525600 moments
by A-Karana
Summary: Trying to make a relationship work sometimes isn't all that easy. Sequel to "Never a dull moment".
1. Chapter 1

I guess Avalon told us a lot in that first epi of Bones this season, a lot about what's going to happen, what might happen... A hint (or two) about what's really going to happen might be in this chapter, so pay attention ;)

Scenes from epi 5.1 included

**Chapter 1: I shall be too late**

"I absolutely _cannot_ believe this!" Cam groaned when she hung up her phone in the office and leaned her arms against the cold surface of her desk.

"What? That I'm still here and we're still wearing all of our clothes?" Hodgins grinned at her from the couch where he sat. His computers and machines were rendering without him and his assistants had the rest under control, so he had decided to spend the rest of his workday hovering over his girlfriend, who he hadn't seen enough these last weeks. Now that Brennan was back and Booth was reinstated it was only a matter of time until the lab would go crazy solving murders again.

"That we won't be able to go on our date- again," she rolled her eyes and pushed the chair away from the desk with the force of frustration.

"Why?" She rolled with her chair over to the couch and stopped beside him.

"Because Booth and Brennan found several bodies under a fountain," she enlightened him.

"You're kidding," he gaped at her, his face falling.

"No, they just called and told me to send over a team to help remove the bodies. Oh, and you're needed as well to take samples and... do what you do in those situations," she finished with a sigh.

"You jinxed our date," he replied accusingly and held up a finger, pointing at her face.

"What?"

"You jinxed it. This morning you said that we could only go on our date if Booth and Dr. B. wouldn't find a body and now they have. Under a fountain. What the hell were they doing under a fountain anyway?" he asked, then pointed with his index finger again. "Therefore you jinxed our date."

"Oh, I did not. And they were sent to the fountain by Angela's psychic, so I guess the psychic ruined our date not me," she disagreed and pushed his hand down by placing her own over it. He caught her fingers with his and interlaced them.

"Since when does Angela have a psychic? Not that I'm surprised," he muttered the last part.

"You're asking me? You were engaged to her," Cam replied.

"Exactly, past tense," he nodded.

"Angela even dragged Brennan with her. Booth just told me on the phone," she said and let him pull her closer by rolling her chair in front of him.

"Oh, and what did she say?" he asked, his eyes wandering over her body and she knew that he was most likely not really wanting an answer to his question.

"That Booth and Brennan are linked in a really profound and spiritual manner," she said anyway and glared at him when his hands came to rest on her bare knees.

"You know, I love this black dress on you," he ignored her glare and let his hands wander up her thighs.

"Her dress is dark blue, Jack," Angela said from the doorway when she came into the room, having heard the last parts of their conversation. "And get this: Avalon also said that Brennan was pregnant with Booth's child in the dream," the artist went on and sat down beside Hodgins, not caring that his hands were still resting on Cam's thighs and she was still glaring at him.

"Thanks, Angie, for walking in at the exact wrong moment," he groaned and finally took his hands away. He glared at her and looked at Cam for back-up but realized that she was still looking at him disapprovingly- not at Angela.

"There's no wrong moment to consult your boss, Hodgins. I've told you this several times already and I've also told you that you should keep your hands off at the lab, remember?" she asked him and raised both eyebrows slowly.

"Yeah, yeah, guess I should go and get my stuff. Maybe we can go on that date if I'm done early?" he wondered and slowly got up and stretched his arms and legs, bending back a bit.

"I doubt it. At least eight bodies are under that fountain and they all need to be dug up and brought to the lab," Cam shook her head.

"Ok, so no date. Your place?" he asked with another sigh.

"Sure, but bring your key, because I might not be home. I'm going out with Booth," she nodded and moved from the desk chair to the couch.

"With Booth?" He didn't like it and that was audible.

"He asked me to grab a drink with him tonight. And since you will be working I agreed. He said he needed to talk to me," she explained.

"Ok, but you're not driving home with Booth afterwards. Take a cab," he told her and pecked her lips when she wanted to protest.

"Every time you two go out together you're doing shots and emptying more than one beer. Even his huge FBI car won't protect you when he wrecks it. Cab or call me and I'll get you," he told her insistently, his face so close she felt his breath on her skin.

"Ok," she finally nodded and had to let him walk off with another peck.

"He's so cute when he's overprotective," Angela gushed when he walked away. Cam looked at her and saw her looking after Hodgins, a small wistful smile on her face. For a second Cam felt jealous and protective, wanted to tell her to take her eyes off her guy's ass. But then she refrained, knowing that Angela wasn't a problem. The artist could look and pine all she wanted, Hodgins belonged to her now.

"Pregnant, huh? Guess the whole baby discussion isn't over yet at the lab," Cam said then, referring to Angela's earlier comment.

"I still have that onesie, but if these two want a baby they should do it the normal way, get down and dirty," Angela grinned.

"I agree," Cam laughed. "So what did the psychic tell you?" she asked curiously when the laughter had died down.

"That I will make a surprising discovery concerning one of my exes, that I will break my celibacy kick with someone I'm not even thinking about in that way at the moment, although I know him or her already and that there will be a development early next year that will have me question a very important life decision I once made," Angela summed up what Avalon had seen for her in the cards.

"Huh, sounds intriguing," Cam replied.

"If you want to consult her as well, just tell me," Angela grinned.

"Maybe once I can be sure she wasn't the one who buried the bodies under the fountain," Cam winked and got up. "You want some coffee? Seems like we're the only ones left at the lab," she asked. As much pain as Angela's mere existence had caused her during the last months she was still a friend and she had been there for Hodgins when he had needed someone. Maybe she had even been the one who had brought them back together and for that she was grateful. It was time that they had one of their girl talks again, since they hadn't had one in months. Just Hodgins was off limits now, because she didn't want to compare notes.

"Sure," Angela smiled and Cam was off to the kitchen.

~*~

"First drink since the brain operation?" Cam asked after taking her first sip of her drink. She sat beside Booth at the Founding Fathers bar after he had picked her up from the lab and they had walked the short distance, both still dressed in their work clothes.

"Yeah, and since, you know, getting back to work," he replied and looked at her, holding his glass with both hands.

"I'm honored. An auspicious occasion," she replied, holding her drink still in her left hand, knowing that something was up. "So, what do you want?" she asked before taking another sip.

"Just wanna share a drink, you know," he stumbled over the words, talking slowly, trying to explain while not really explaining anything, "with one of my closest and dearest friends who, you know, I could trust with, uhm, certain things," he went on and her eyes widened with worry, because she picked up, once again, on the fact that something was bothering him.

"Oh God," she said and looked wide-eyed at him.

"What?" he replied and raised one eye-brow.

"There's lasting brain damage, isn't there? Something you haven't told anyone. Are you hearing voices?" she asked while he looked confused at her and then ordered another round of drinks for the two of them.

"No," he just replied shortly and took the drinks from the waiter.

"Seeley, if you're hearing voices that is really serious," she went on and he handed her one of the shots he had ordered.

"No, I'm not hearing voices, Camille, alright? Relax, I just...well, I did forget that I wore goofy socks, so we can do one for that, huh?" he replied and both clicked their glasses and downed the first shot of the night.

"Mmh, the things that make you a great cop have nothing to do with the socks. What's really on your mind?" she prodded when she had swallowed the liquid, the slight burn in her throat only irritating her for a second. Booth got really nervous, started fidgeting under her gaze, and wiped his mouth nervously with his hand before he started talking.

"Alright, uhm, that place that I went to, you know, in my coma dream... it was just... Bones and I we were so... real," he finally spit out what was bothering him.

"You're in love with Dr. Brennan," she replied without hesitating, a small smile on her face. He was speechless for a moment and her smile got wider. She knew she was right when he gave her a small smile in reply and didn't deny it.

"What I'm wondering is: Am I the same guy?" he asked her next.

"Uh, sweet, kick-ass FBI murder solver with hard fists and a lion heart?" She asked after pretending to think about it for a moment. In reality she just told him what she was really thinking about him professionally. Her evaluations about the private Booth would have been different, but not less flattering.

"Mmh."

"Yup, you're still him", she told him and he looked away from her thoughtfully. She knew that he was lost, not knowing what to do. He had been in love before, but never with his eccentric partner he worked with, had to rely on and needed to trust. "My advice, for what it's worth, forget the bruised brain and go with your lion heart," she added and he looked at her again, nodded. Six months ago she might have given him another piece of advice, one more cautious, more along the lines of protecting the lion heart and waiting for the bruised brain to recover fully. However now she knew that while it was important to guard your own heart and your emotions, especially around the people you work with, there came a point when you only hurt yourself when you held back. It still amazed her when she thought about her reconciliation with Hodgins and how he had bared his soul to her while she had offered him nothing that could have made him hope. He had told her that he was in love with her while they had been broken up, fighting, not really talking. And she had learned from that, at least she hoped so.

"Right... right... and, uh, tell Bones how I feel," he concluded and raised his scotch glass to toast with her again. She lifted her glass as well, but then held up one finger to stop him, an important thought coming to her mind.

"Yes, except: Be sure about your feelings because if you crack that shell and you change your mind she'll die of loneliness before she'll ever trust anyone ever again," she warned him and raised her glass again. She was not as socially awkward as Brennan was, not even close, but maybe just as wary when it came to her heart. She understood the anthropologist and her fears and Booth needed to know that he had to be sure. While Brennan seemed strong she was not, not really and a break-up, especially one with Booth- the person she trusted most, would destroy her.

"Right," he agreed after a moment and clicked his glass against hers. Cam downed the rest of her Scotch immediately while Booth waited another moment, obviously contemplating what she had just told him. He understood. When he raised his glass and took the first sip he looked at her with a small smile then drank the rest just as her cell phone went off.

"Hodgins?" Booth grinned when he saw the smile forming on her face upon seeing who was calling.

"Hey Jack," she answered the phone and grinned at Booth, a bit embarrassed. She knew she was acting like a teenager, but she knew that she could let her guard down around Booth. At the lab she had to keep up her front, be the boss and not smile giddily because her boyfriend called. She had been sure that he would call, had secretly waited for it, knew that he wanted to make sure she was ok, ask her where she was, wanted to know when she would be home and most of all simply hear her voice. She knew all this because he had told her- and because she felt the same way about him and acted the same way when the roles were reversed.

"Babe, I'm on my way back to the Jeffersonian. Judging by the noise I'd say you're still at the bar?" he asked and she could make out the sounds of his car radio and the engine.

"Yes, we're at the Founding Fathers," she replied.

"Why don't you come back to the lab after you're done? I can take you home with me and if Booth wants we can stop at his place and drop him off," he offered.

"You want a ride home later?" Cam asked Booth, who looked surprised and thought about it for a second.

"Nah, I'm still good. I think I'll stop by the office and the fountain and check on Bones," he admitted then.

"You heard that? Booth will drive himself," Cam told Hodgins.

"I heard and tell him that as a cop he should know better or else he's just a fool," he replied with a snort.

"You really want me to tell him that?" Cam laughed and Booth raised both eyebrows questioningly.

"Nah, better not. Maybe he's not himself when he's drunk and really will shoot me. See you later and be careful, k?" he said and she could hear the smile in his voice.

"See you later," she replied softly and hung up, looking at the phone in her hand with a smile.

"I've never seen you so smitten before," Booth said teasingly and nudged her shoulder with his.

"I really... like him," she grinned widely and he knew that was all the admission he would get from her. "And if you and Brennan hadn't found those bodies I would be out with him right now, eating at some fancy restaurant, maybe watching some old movie after dinner at a cozy movie theater...," she sighed and put her cell phone back in her purse.

"You had a date planned?" he asked sympathetically.

"Yeah, still our back together date. We haven't had any time so far and with the new case it looks like it'll still be a while," she replied and took the beer he had placed in front of her and sipped, then wiped the foam off her lips. "You know that's actually the downside of dating someone from the lab: We all work those crazy hours and even if I can get out earlier it doesn't mean that he can. Actually, usually when one of us goes home early the other has to stay even longer," she went on, disappointment swinging in her voice.

"Still, you look happy," he said and raised his beer bottle.

"I am," she smiled and clicked her bottle against his.

~*~

"Hey, you can still walk straight," he grinned after turning around on his chair. He had heard her heels clicking on the floor and he would recognize the sound of her steps anywhere.

"We didn't drink that much," she shook her head, placed her bag on his desk and took off her jacket which she laid over the back of a chair. He watched her, caught a whiff of her perfume when she took off her coat and wrapped his arms around her waist when she came to stand in front of him. He looked up at her and she looked down on him, both wearing similar smiles and the same look of affection in their eyes, brown and blue. Finally he stood up and pulled her flush against him before he kissed her, much softer than she had anticipated.

"You taste like beer and something stronger," he smacked his lips to get another taste. "Jaegermeister?" he asked then.

"You're good," she grinned and pecked his lips again before she stepped away from him and took some chewing gum out of her purse. "You want one?"

"No, thanks," he shook his head. "But maybe you could get me a cup of coffee? I can't really concentrate when I'm tired. Honestly, I just wanna go home," he admitted and rubbed over his eyes with one hand.

"Sure. You're the last man standing? I didn't see anyone else when I came in," she replied and took his empty cup, which had been standing beside his monitor.

"Angela should still be here. Or she left without saying goodbye," he shrugged and turned to his other screen when it started beeping.

"She's already reconstructing the faces?" Cam asked surprised.

"Yes, Brennan gave her the first two when we were still under the fountain," he replied and she heard the excitement.

"You liked digging around there, didn't you?" she grinned and cocked her head to the side, thinking about the fact that his excitement was endearing, even though it was about soil samples and bugs.

"You bet I did. After sorting skeletons for the last weeks this is awesome," he nodded. She just laughed and turned around to get his coffee.

"Hey," he stopped her in the doorway.

"Mmmh?"

"What did Booth want?" She thought about telling him the truth, but then decided that this was Booth's thing and he should decide who to confide in.

"Just some friendly evaluation on how bruised his brain still is," she winked and went for the second time that day to fetch coffee for a subordinate.

~*~

The beeping of the computer announcing an incoming video call from the Jeffersonian interrupted Caroline and Booth the next day in the conference room at the Hoover building. When the camera switched on Hodgins came face to face with the both of them, but still couldn't keep himself from making a joke on Booth's account. Just a little payback for the fact that he had spent time with his girlfriend last night, while Hodgins had to work.

"Booth, how many fingers am I holding up?" he asked and switched from five to seven to one to...

"Yeah, brain damage joke, that's really funny," the attorney said disapprovingly and Hodgins saw the look she gave Booth, the one that clearly said "Crazy squints".

"What do you got?" Booth just asked, but to Hodgins great satisfaction with an unnerved look on his face.

"What I got are multiple degrees in botany, geology and entomology, which allow me to discern vital clues like this one, " Hodgins pointed out, hoping to intimidate them just a little bit and knew when he showed them the diagram that they wouldn't have the slightest clue what it would be. And that made him so much smarter than the two of them together.

"What's that? A graph of Russian wheat production in 1955?" Caroline asked and Booth laughed, but they all knew that Hodgins had won this round. He explained to them in detail what he had found and even gave them the info that the navy referred to the suits which matched the fabric as "poopy suits".

"Right, you mean for submarine crews?" Booth asked and looked at the picture of one of the suits that Hodgins showed them.

"Yeah, exactly," Hodgins agreed and then came to his favorite part. "Now my conclusion is that we have uncovered the anonymous grave of the crew of the super secret stealth submarine Hawkfish which disappeared in the late 90s and the US government denies the very existence of a submarine, yet I..." he didn't get farther because Booth ended the connection or closed the laptop, Hodgins did not know exactly. Either way, the screen went black.

"Ignorant, anal,… "he muttered and jumped when he felt a hand coming down on his shoulder.

"Who are you talking about?" Cam asked quietly against his ear before she stepped back from him.

"Booth and Caroline. I was just telling them that I identified the victims and they just shut me off," he replied and leaned against his desk, arms crossed over his chest.

"When were you going to tell me that you identified the victims?" she replied and mirrored his stance.

"I just found out," he replied and pressed a few buttons on his keyboard and then the plan of the Hawkfish showed up. Cam took one look at it and then shook her head.

"Ok, if this is your theory then shutting you up is probably the best way to deal with it," she told him and stood back up straight.

"And just how are you gonna do that?" he grinned smugly at her and licked his lips without being aware of it. Cam saw the tip of his tongue peeking out between his lips though, her eyes lingering at his mouth for a moment. She could taste him on her own lips, feel his tongue gliding against hers, exploring her mouth and was overcome with the desire to kiss him. Grab him by his shirt and kiss him senseless, tongue and all. However, they were at the lab with zooming cameras, curious colleagues and nosy subordinates so she couldn't act on her impulse, not in his lab at least and not at this time of the day.

"By just going back to my office and telling you to send the results over via email," she replied instead, grinned back and turned around. With a smug jaunt in her steps she left his office, knowing that he would come and collect his kiss later. Hoping and waiting for it.

~*~

"Your chocolate frappuccino, miss," he said when he entered her office later that day around noon.

"Aw, thank you," she said and looked up from the report she had just read.

"I bring sandwiches as well," he grinned and sat down on her couch.

"You're lucky I'm still here, because Angela and Brennan wanted me to come with them to the diner," she said when she sat down beside him.

"I heard you declining, so I guess you're the lucky one that I'm taking care of you and making sure your caffeine level doesn't sink too low and you don't starve," he told her and kissed her quickly before handing her the coffee cup.

"Guess you're right," she replied and kissed him again when she took the cup from him.

"Why didn't you go with them?" he asked and handed her her sandwich as well.

"Because I had the suspicion that you would stop by," she grinned.

"You waited for me," he pointed out smugly.

"So what if I did?" she shrugged, still smiling.

"Nothing," he said and glanced to the door and the blinds to make sure both were shut. "Come here," he said then and pulled her in his arms. Both knew that this was strictly against the rules they had set for themselves, but they hadn't seen much of each other these last weeks and they both needed to be close to each other, even if it was just for a moment.

"When do you think we can go on our date?" she asked him and looked up at him.

"Knowing Brennan and you- not before this case is solved. But if it doesn't happen within the next week I might just kidnap you for one weekend," he replied.

"That sounds good," she laughed, nuzzling her nose against his throat. "Lately I feel like the rabbit from Alice in Wonderland, running around saying "_Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!_"," she chuckled, impersonating the rabbit. He laughed as well and wrapped his arms tighter around her shoulders, pressed a kiss to her forehead before he let go of her with a sigh.

"We should eat before the others get back and unnerve us again," he told her and un-wrapped his sandwich.

"Don't forget that they're our friends," she smiled and un-wrapped her food as well.

"I know. I just wish we could be alone more often. Since we got back together all we do is work, look after sick friends, drive petulant teenagers through town and go grocery shopping together as the big highlight," he replied.

"I know. Tomorrow night there'll be this month's board meeting which will take forever and Friday is the annual committee meeting."

"Yeah, my secretary faxed the invitation," he nodded.

"You're going?" she asked.

"I never go to the committee meetings," he shook his head.

"I have to go. We could go together," she offered. He looked at her, still chewing his sandwich, swallowed and nodded.

"Ok, we could go for dinner afterwards. Not really a date but at least we wouldn't have to cook," he thought aloud.

"I just have to leave Michelle some pizza money," she agreed, liking his idea.

"Ok, then let's do that. Oh, and tomorrow I'll meet with Wendell," he remembered.

"For drinks?" she asked.

"Yeah, maybe play some pool and just hang out," he said and wiped his mouth with the napkin he had brought.

"You're going to stay at your place?" she asked, knowing that he had everything they needed for that at home.

"No, some bar somewhere. We haven't decided yet," he shook his head and collected the wrappers and napkins from both of their sandwiches and threw them in the trash.

"Afraid he would faint if he sees your palace?" she teased him when he came back to the sofa.

"Maybe a little," he joked and took the can of soda he had brought for himself and opened it.

"But please follow your own advice and don't drink and drive, especially not with the kid around," she advised him and grabbed her bottle of water.

"Kid?" he didn't get the reference.

"Wendell," she clarified and took a sip of her drink right out of the bottle.

"He's over 21 and allowed to drink," Hodgins just shrugged, not really caring how old his buddy was.

"But he's young enough that people would refer to him as my "boytoy" and to me as a "cougar" if there was something going on between me and him and that makes him "the kid"," Cam explained her reasoning.

"And what does that make me?" he asked and raised his eyebrows.

"The crazy squint I date, to quote Booth," she laughed and made him snort.

"Says the guy who'd love to date the queen of squints," he replied and they both laughed at that.

"Bulls- eye," Cam agreed. They were still laughing when there was a knock on the door and Angela lurked in, not waiting for Cam to reply.

"Aw, too bad, you're decent," she joked and while Cam just shook her head, Hodgins rolled his eyes.

"Was there anything you wanted besides seeing us in a catchy situation?" Cam asked her in the tone of voice that made clear that they were at a workplace and she was the boss.

"I actually wanted to show you the new video results," the artist admitted.

"Ok, that's a reason I can deal with," Cam approved and both she and Hodgins followed Angela into her office. Cam and Hodgins were focused only on the case now and the information Angela was giving them, however, if they were honest with themselves or started questioning their actions they would have to admit that it was kind of pointless that the bugs and slime guy was coming along to watch the video. Sure, it was interesting and sure, he could help, maybe see something only a third pair of eyes could see- which would have worked with any intern as well. The only reason why he was in this room was because he had naturally walked beside Cam, wanting to see what was going on and wanting to be close to her. Hodgins following her through the lab had become a habit he started even before they had started dating, and no one was questioning it anymore. If he was talking to her or was just in the same room, he would come along.

"Ok, I managed to get a partial video file off the minidisc. This is Tom Fargood, el supremo. He sold places in a secret undersea facility he called Harbinger," Angela explained as she showed them the first sequences of the video.

"So these people are all nuts," Cam concluded.

"Not at all. People pay a fortune to visit that giant underwater hotel in Abu Dhabi," Hodgins disagreed naturally. Though they might be a couple now, they still didn't agree on everything. Honestly they disagreed on most random things.

"Yeah, in Dubai. There's another one in Istanbul, Key West, Sweden…," Angela went on.

"So where did Fargood locate his new Atlantis?" Cam wanted to know, the mocking undertone still there.

" A secret site in French Polynesia," the artist supplied.

"Buried under a fountain, that's a bit of a come down from Bora Bora," Hodgins said, sarcasm now his modus operandi as well.

"I count 14 people in this video," Cam added when she had looked over the paused video.

"We dug out 12 from under the fountain," he went on, knowing where her thoughts were going.

"Look at this," Angela said and pressed play and let the video run until two females were visible.

"Is that Avalon?" the coroner asked when she saw the familiar face of a blonde woman.

"No, that's her sister," Angela shook her head.

"How do you know?" Hodgins questioned, not looking convinced.

"Because that is Avalon," Angela said and pointed to the second woman after letting the tape play for another second.

"Oh, they look like they were pretty close," he said when Angela paused the video and the picture of the two sisters filled the screen.

"Her sister ended up in a mass grave that she led us to. Not sure that adds up to pretty close," Cam shot back at him and narrowed her eyes. He looked at Angela, seeking for help or some remark, but she left him hanging.

"You're the one with the sister," he retorted finally and winked when she opened her mouth to say something. "Ok, I won the underwater thing, you win this round. So I guess we're even," he told her and she nodded satisfied.

~*~

She was just leaving her office with the files in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other when he sought her out.

"Hey, you're leaving already?" he asked her and took the files from her hand a second before they would have dropped to the floor.

"Thanks," she smiled when he caught the files. "And yes, board meeting at five," she reminded him, knowing she had told him before.

"So you'll be out around eight?" he asked and walked beside her through the lab.

"Hopefully. Last time some new guy showed up and talked for at least two hours," she rolled her eyes.

"You want me to give you my iphone? You can go online or play some games," he grinned and took his cell phone out of his jeans pocket and waved it around.

"I've got my blackberry with me. And you mean like this incredibly nerve wracking game where one can watch a pond with fish in it and can feed them and pet them by tipping against the screen with the fingertips?" she grinned teasingly.

"Hey, come on! The graphic is amazing and how cool is it when they nibble at your fingers?" he asked with a smile.

"They're cyber-fish, you realize that they cannot really nibble on anything, right?" she wanted to make sure.

"Mmh, nibble… if only we were alone right now," he sighed and made her laugh with his reference that was clearly dirty.

"Maybe you can show me what you're talking about tonight," she said in a low voice and smiled at him.

"I'll try and not get home too late. Send the "kid" to bed early," he winked referring to his night out with Wendell.

"Ok then, see you later tonight," she said when they reached the elevator.

"See you later!" he replied and gave her arm a squeeze when he handed her the files back. He would have preferred to kiss her goodbye, but there were just too many people around.

~*~

"Who is distracting you with text messages? You're losing, man. That has never happened before," Wendell said to Hodgins after he had missed another shot because his cell phone had started beeping.

"It's not text messages, it's direct tweets," Hodgins told him and laughed when he read the message.

"You know it's not really polite to text on your phone while you're out with a friend," Wendell lectured him playfully and glanced over his shoulder to read the message.

"Hey, that's private," Hodgins complained and turned away from the blonde intern.

"Should have known," Wendell grinned, having seen Cam's name on the screen. "Is she bored at home?"

"No, worse: Bored at the board meeting at work. She's a second away from either falling asleep or exploding into a ball of fury," Hodgins laughed and put his cell back in his pocket.

"Another drink?" Wendell asked and pointed to the bar after he sunk the last ball.

"Yep, I buy," Hodgins nodded and sat down on a stool before they ordered their drinks.

"So… you haven't told me yet how this whole thing started. And when," Wendell grinned when he took his Vodka lemon. Hodgins chuckled about his friend's curiosity and took his own drink.

"You remember that night when you introduced me to your female buddies from university?" he grinned, referring to the night they had met Cam by chance at the bar and they had somehow ended up at his place afterwards. Just the two of them.

"Oh man, this long? That was what? Six months ago?" Wendell exclaimed.

"No, nearly five," Hodgins shook his head. He could have told him exactly how many weeks, days, hours or minutes but doubted that Wendell would want to know.

"And? Is it serious?" Wendell wanted to know more.

"As serious as it can get if you ask me," Hodgins replied honestly.

"I had a feeling about you two back then. I knew something was going on, I just didn't know it was that serious," Wendell replied.

"That evening we weren't a couple yet or anything," he replied and wrinkled his forehead, taking another sip of his drink.

"I just remember wondering why you were suddenly on a first name basis and knew what her place looked like," the intern replied and ordered another round of drinks with a wave of his hand.

"Oh, that's a whole other story, my friend," Hodgins laughed, remembering how he had helped her move in Michelle and his late night call after Angela's dad had tattoo-ed him.

"Mind sharing it?" Wendell grinned.

"I might need another drink to do that. Or two," he replied and gulped down the last of his vodka before taking the new glass from Wendell.

~*~

"Thanks baby for coming to get us," Hodgins slurred two hours later when Cam had found them at the bar after her meeting was over and Hodgins had called her.

"No problem, the meeting was just over anyway," she replied and kissed him quickly. "Boy, what did you two drink? Absinth?" she winced when the smell of alcohol hit her.

"The crusher," Hodgins grinned back drunkenly.

"Yay, the crusher!" Wendell cheered and nearly fell off his stool when he raised his arms and let go of the counter which he had been holding on to.

"Can you two even walk?" she asked skeptically and narrowed her eyes at Hodgins, already wondering how she would get those two in the car.

"I can walk," Hodgins assured her and got off his stool to prove his statement right.

"Ok, at least you can stand straight," she nodded with a smile.

"I can stand straight, too!" Wendell proclaimed and stumbled off his chair, nearly toppled over and was steadied at the last second by Hodgins, who grabbed him by the back of his shirt.

"You let him get wasted," she shook her head and pointed with her chin at the intern.

"Told you he's old enough to drink," Hodgins shrugged and helped Wendell straighten up.

"If he throws up, I'm here with your Mercedes," she mentioned disapprovingly.

"I know, because we drove to work together," Hodgins remembered and smiled proudly, like he had just achieved something enormous.

"Glad you still remember me," she just smiled and took Wendell's coat from the chair and helped him into it while Hodgins held him upright.

"Of course I remember you, I love you," he insisted immediately and maybe a bit too loudly, because several heads turned in their direction and Cam saw the smiles.

"He really does. He told me," Wendell assured her and wrapped one arm around her shoulder while he pointed with the other to his own chest, making sure she would understand him.

"Good to know, Wendell," she grinned and exchanged a look with Hodgins. "Ready?" she asked him.

"Whenever you are," he smiled at her. He steadied his young friend from one side while Cam steadied him from the other and together they made it out the bar and to the car. They shoved Wendell into the backseat while Hodgins took his seat on the passenger's side.

"Is he still breathing?" Cam asked when she saw Wendell slumped in the backseat, eyes closed, head bent at a weird angle.

"Yup," Hodgins replied after holding a hand in front of his mouth and checking. "Your meeting took forever," he complained then.

"Believe me, I know," she laughed humorlessly. "This new jerk was there again and he obviously likes hearing himself talk. I really don't understand why Anderson wasn't shutting him up."

"Because Anderson is a disinterested jerk who doesn't care about the Institute?" he replied.

"He represents the main investors at the Jeffersonian, he should be interested," she rolled her eyes. "Do I turn right here or at the next crossing?" she asked him then, not really sure where Wendell lived.

"Next one," he replied and fiddled with the radio. "Anderson represents just the main investor, by the way. Meyer is the attorney in charge of the representation of the investors' board," he informed her.

"The Cantilever group is the main investor, which would make Anderson your employee," Cam thought out loud and then looked accusingly at him. "You're actually responsible for the torture I had to endure today. If you would go to those meetings then Anderson wouldn't annoy me anymore," she accused him.

"Hey, I was assured that he's a good attorney and knows what he's doing. I'd rather die than go to all those boring meetings," he insisted.

"No, you rather get wasted with the interns and I have to listen to his speech and make up excuses why I can't go to lunch with him this week. He's insisting on next week, by the way," she told him with a shudder and turned right after the traffic light.

"Anderson is hitting on you?" Hodgins asked.

"We're obviously the only two unmarried people amongst those twenty and we were seated next to each other," she said. "Again," she added as an afterthought because when she thought about it they had always ended up sitting next to each other so far.

"I'm coming on Friday," Hodgins decided and crossed his arms in front of his chest, determination written all over his face.

"Yeah, if you're not still nursing your hangover," she replied skeptically.

"Stop here, that's Wendell's house," Hodgins said then and Cam looked up the large apartment building that was typical for student apartments.

"You'll face the parents alone or you want me to come?" she asked her boyfriend.

"There are no parents," Hodgins snorted. "But I got this. Just lock the car while you wait," he told her and got out of the car and then opened the backdoor and shook Wendell awake. Cam just rolled her eyes. Even when he was drunk and could barely walk straight he was still nearly as overprotective as Booth.

~*~

"Going on the Harbinger video, Avalon's names and Dr. Brennan's analysis, this is most likely Luis Lamcoff," Cam said the next afternoon to Angela while she was walking with her up to the platform at the lab. She was still wearing her autopsy clothes which she had needed earlier that day and Angela was for once also dressed in her lab coat.

"The man with the whole in his skull," Angela said when they stopped in front of the skeleton.

"The only victim we know for certain died violently," Cam nodded.

"My 3D imaging suggests that a shaft shot from a spear gun through the soft pallet would have caused the wound," Angela told her and went to the computer to show her the rendering. The short 3D clip had just stopped when Hodgins hurried up to them. He was actually productive again, even after his alcohol excess the day before. Cam's sympathy was restrained to handing him some Advil and she was glad that he was his usual cheery self again that afternoon, compared to his more shallow performance earlier that day.

"I know how everybody else died. Not Mr. Hole- in- the- skull, but the others," he announced and hurried up to the computer. He pressed some keys and a picture showed up that Cam knew because he had shown it to her earlier that day.

"That's the crystallized calcium oxalate you found in the soil," she nodded.

"Right. Minute amounts in the soil layer beneath each and every body," he agreed.

"Well, is it poisonous?" Angela asked, not really understanding what he was getting at. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Cam shaking her head even before Hodgins replied.

"No, but it makes sense to ask ourselves what processes might result in crystallized calcium oxalate," he let her know and Cam now understood why he was so excited.

"Liver or kidneys?" she followed his train of thoughts while Angela stood beside them and watched them like she would watch a tennis match. She had no idea what they were talking about. The days when she had understood Hodgins' chemical gibberish were long over.

"Kidney function would do that to plain old oxaline which is derived from glycolate," Hodgins went on and Angela watched with amazement that Cam could follow him.

"Well, glycolate is poisonous," the coroner provided and Angela wondered if maybe she could follow him because she was a doctor and not because she was his girlfriend. Or maybe it was both?

"Glycolate is a converted version of Glycolaldehyde via the aldehyde dehydrogenates in the liver," he sputtered and showed them the chemical formulas on the PC monitor.

"A poison that isn't a poison until it's metabolized," Cam said and that was actually the first sentence that made sense again to Angela.

"Ethylene glycol," Hodgins grinned and revealed his discovery.

"That's anti-freeze," Angela knew, proud that she got at least the gist of it.

"Sweet to the taste, easily disguised, administered over time which gives the kidneys time to crystallize the stuff. It's virtually untraceable," Hodgins said slowly and with much enjoyment, a small smile playing on his lips. He was so proud of himself.

"Well, unless some brilliant bug and slime wonk finds it in the soil," Cam replied, deciding that he had done good and she needed to tell him.

"And that, ladies, that is why they call me king of the lab," he cockily grinned at her and she nearly let an answer slip to that comment, but then decided to bite her tongue. Angela wasn't as merciful.

"Nobody does that but you," she informed him and he wrinkled his forehead in disbelieve for a second.

"The early symptoms of ethylene glycol poisoning: fatigue, nausea, headache," she quickly said, not wanting to discuss his king fantasy again.

"Indistinguishable from MCS," he agreed with her and then the wrinkles were back.

"Dr. Brennan is gonna want to confer with that Harbinger doctor," she said and then quickly hurried off, knowing that he would most likely corner her if she wouldn't flee now. And she hated destroying his little fantasies.

"That true about the king of the lab?" he asked Angela instead after Cam had hurried off.

"That only you care?" she asked and he nodded. "Yeah," she let him know and then left him as well. However he knew he was good, and he knew he was king of the lab. The others just didn't want to admit it, he decided and the grin was back on his face, the good mood still there.

~*~

"Cam? Can you come over, Caroline and I just got here," Booth asked when he called her on her phone in her office.

"Be there in a second," she said and hung up.

"They want your results?" Hodgins asked and pulled on the sleeves of his suit jacket.

"Yeah and they want to show Caroline the video. Shouldn't take too long though. You're waiting here?" she asked him and adjusted his collar for him.

"Yup," he nodded and flopped down on her couch.

"Ok, I'll be right back," she said and was off with a peck on his lips. Checking her watch she saw that they only had twenty minutes left until the committee meeting would start so Booth and Brennan had better be quick. She had already changed into her black suit and had re-done her hair and make-up before Booth had called, so that wasn't a problem anymore.

"Hi, what have you got? And make it quick I'm in a hurry," she told them when she saw them on the platform.

"Meeting?" Booth asked and she nodded, not caring to elaborate. Brennan started the video and for the first time she saw how they had collected the DNA material from Fargood by using Avalon's rage.

"That is sneaky," Caroline commented when she saw what they had done.

"Is sneaky good or bad?" Brennan wanted to know, most likely for the future, less for the exact definition of the word. Although that was a possibility as well, when Cam thought about it.

"Good, if it holds up in court," the lawyer replied and they watched the end of the attack scene.

"Next time, make it look more like you're taking advantage of the situation, not scripting it," Cam advised when she saw Brennan's strange reaction to Avalon's attack on the tape.

"Don't keep me hanging people. Are Alexander Gallo and Tom Fargood the same person?" Caroline wanted to know.

"Yup, perfect match," Cam replied shortly. Caroline didn't look too thrilled though and even Brennan noticed.

"What? Your facial expression suggests that you are dissatisfied," she addressed her.

"Well, you proved that Gallo is Fargood, fine, but now you gotta prove that Fargood killed those people and dumped them under that fountain," Caroline explained.

"Just charge him with murder, give us time to find the spear gun and the van," Booth spoke up for the first time.

"Cherie, what are the chances of that happening?" the lawyer asked and Cam hung her head, knowing what that meant.

"A million to one," she replied.

"Oh, we don't have all the variables so…," Brennan immediately disagreed. Cam only closed her eyes and the anthropologist seemed to understand. "You're not being precise," she concluded and Cam shook her head. "You're simply illustrating the difficulty," Brennan finally got it and Cam nodded before she opened her eyes again. Someday the squints being so literal would be the death of her.

"Everything maybe adds up all the time in the lab, but in real life sometimes you lose one," Caroline said and then left the platform.

"Well, what shall we do? Kill him?" Brennan turned to Booth, not satisfied with the outcome.

"Still in earshot cherie, still in earshot," Caroline said and waved, which made Cam smile amusedly.

"Ok, I let you two plot, because I have to go. Call when you need me," she told them and then hurried off to her office again.

"Ready to go?" she asked when she entered and found Hodgins lying on the couch.

"Physically yes, mentally never," he replied and slowly got up.

"You know you don't have to come. You can go home and I'll take a cab later," she told him, knowing how much he hated meetings. She had been surprised in the first place when he had actually brought a dress shirt in this morning so he could really go with her. Sure, he was refusing slacks and a tie, but the suit jacket and dress shirt went just as well with his jeans, she had to say.

"Oh, I absolutely have to come this time and make sure Anderson knows that he has to keep his hands of my woman," he snorted and wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her close.

"Men," she rolled her eyes.

"Man, one man to be exact," he told her and leaned his forehead against hers and looked her deep in the eyes. "One man who is totally nuts about you and loves you oh so very much," he said and made her sigh. How could she ever resist him or refuse him anything? Her heart flew out to him, sped up, made joy rush through her whole body.

"I love you, too," she replied quietly and kissed him, the cameras the last thing on her mind. He kissed her back, deepened the kiss. As always she felt her knees weaken as desire shot through her. Maybe they should just skip the meeting and go home. They could come up with some excuse tomorrow.

"We have to go," he was the voice of reason for once and broke the kiss.

"Mmhp," she made dissatisfied, less interested in going to the meeting than ever before.

"Remember there's a reservation waiting for us at Grace's after the meeting with amazing tiramisu," he smiled at her, happy that she wanted to be alone with him just as much as he wanted to be alone with her.

"I think my favorite part will be when we get home after Grace's," she admitted and stroked over his suit jacket to smoothen the wrinkles their embrace had caused.

"They repaired the whirlpool yesterday," he grinned and kissed her quickly.

"Maybe we should just skip the meeting_ and_ Grace's," she smiled and then wiped his lips with her thumb.

"Lipstick?" he asked.

"Not anymore," she replied and squealed when he caught her finger with his teeth and bit it lightly.

"Oh dear! Oh dear! We shall be too late!" Hodgins said when he let go of her thumb and she laughed out loud. They were still smiling when they finally made their way out of her office and to the meeting, arms wrapped around each other.

**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

So next chapter is here a bit faster than I had planned, but everything to get this story going. Also I would be grateful if you'd leave a review once you read this chapter. Would make me happy.

**Chapter 2: Pool guests**

The scent of champagne and expensive perfume emerged when she opened the door to the conference room. She took a deep breath because she liked that smell and because it got her in the right state of mind for the meetings. She squared her shoulders, stood straighter than before and made sure she had that no nonsense look on her face. She looked quickly over her shoulder at Hodgins who had let go of her waist when she had opened the door.

When he smelled the scent of power he winced, not liking it at all. It reminded him of the past and also of his present, the part of his present life that he didn't like that much.

"Dr. Saroyan, I was afraid you wouldn't come today," Anderson said when he saw her entering the room and was by her side a second later.

"Mr. Anderson, good evening. I still had to work, murder doesn't wait," she smiled at him and looked uncomfortable when he took her hand and kissed it.

"Anderson," Hodgins said and interrupted their little exchange. He had stayed in the background at first and had looked around to see who was present, who he knew and who would come to kiss his feet.

"Dr. Hodgins, that's a surprise," the lawyer replied and his expression showed that he didn't know what to make of the appearance of his bosses bosses bosses… boss.

"Yes, I thought I'd accompany Dr. Saroyan today," he said and looked at the hand he still held.

"Oh, you two know each other?" he replied and finally let go of Cam's hand.

"Sure, we work together," Hodgins replied and this time Cam looked surprised. She hadn't expected Hodgins to be discreet at all and now he wasn't even introducing himself as her partner. Was he mad, she wondered. Maybe because she hadn't taken her hand away. Then again Hodgins wasn't jealous per se, at least not in an extreme way and not unless he felt it was warranted. He wasn't like Booth who'd stare down any guy who even looked at his girl.

"Oh, I always forget that you work here as well," Anderson said.

"Have to use that doctorate somehow, right?" Hodgins smiled at him and Cam felt him trailing his hand slowly up and down her back. It wasn't visible for anyone else, because she was standing with her back to the wall. She understood that it was his way of telling her that they were fine, and that he got the situation and would act accordingly.

"What is it again you're doing?" the lawyer wanted to know.

"I'm an entomologist, botanist and geologist and I work on Dr. Saroyan's team. She's my boss," he smiled at Cam when he said the last part.

"It must be a pleasure to work with her," Anderson smiled at her as well, but unlike Hodgins smile it just made her want to roll her eyes.

"Of course. I'm surrounded by beautiful women all day, another reason why I love my job here," Hodgins indulged in small talk, his hand still on Cam's back, his body blocking the view.

"I'd love to trade places with you. Those guys there are all I see all day. Dr. Saroyan is the only light in the dark," Anderson tried to endear himself to her.

"Ladies and gentlemen, can we start?" Dr. Bancroft said from the lectern on the small stage and prevented Cam and Hodgins from indulging in more chit chat with the lawyer.

"Dr. Saroyan, may I escort you to our usual places?" Anderson asked and offered her his arm.

"Thank you, that's really kind," she replied and Hodgins could hear in her voice, which was just a little too sweet, that she was annoyed already. "Dr. Hodgins, you're coming with us?" she asked him and threw him a look that clearly said "Leave me alone and you'll die".

"Of course Dr. Saroyan," he grinned, linking her arm through his before Anderson could act, and let her show him their usual seats in the third row.

Cam was the last who had to present the financial statement of her department and for the first time it really became clear to Hodgins how much more administrative her work was than his. Every time he blew up the lab or destroyed one of the machines she had to stand up in front of the grand jury in here and justify his actions. What he had considered bossy and anal for a long time was actually her just doing her job. The fact that she was a woman made it harder, he had to admit, when he saw the males in the room gape at her, ogle her and shake their heads sometimes like they just knew that she had no idea what she was talking about. They questioned every little detail she said and more in depth than they had done with any of the others.

"But Dr. Saroyan your budget can not be kept that way. We are paying five interns at the moment, only for Dr. Brennan. Other departments can't even afford one," one of the fat, old guys in the room said. Just by looking at him Hodgins knew that he was one of those who didn't like women in charge. If he liked women working at all, it was as a secretary who did as he told and maybe offered some services on the side as well. _Sleazy asshole_, he thought when he saw the fury in Cam's eyes while she explained again why her department could afford their interns.

"Dr. Saroyan, just yesterday I received another claim for over 30.000 dollars so that you can install new monitors in yet another lab. Is that really necessary?" Bancroft asked her in front of everyone.

"We need another laboratory to be able to conduct the investigations and maintain cooperation with the FBI with the same professionalism as before. My employer asked for the special monitors so I filled out the claim. You can accept it or deny it, either way I don't think we should discuss such details in here," she answered.

"I think our investors should know where exactly their money goes and what it is used for," he disagreed and Hodgins just couldn't stand this anymore.

"Dr. Bancroft I am sure the main investors are ok with the usage of the money, especially because of the good press the Jeffersonian gets from the cooperation with the FBI. And that cooperation is a result of Dr. Saroyan's team alone and no other department," Hodgins spoke up and besides Anderson, the others seemed to realize only now that he was in the room.

"It is funny you say that Dr. Hodgins because the claim we are talking about was actually in your favor," Bancroft shot back and for a moment Hodgins thought about blowing his cover and outing himself as _the_ Hodgins, the Cantilever Hodgins. He looked at Cam, who was still standing up on stage and she shook her head slightly, understanding what he wanted to do.

"That is correct, but you have to admit that because of our work alone the donations to the institute have increased over a 150% since we started working with the FBI and are now mentioned in the press. Especially after the Gormogon case and Howard Epps the donations skyrocketed. Soon there'll be the trial of the Gravedigger and I'm sure you don't want us to stand in front of the grand jury and tell them that we weren't able to provide the necessary evidence because our equipment was too old," he argued and heard murmurs in the room. Surely they were asking themselves how he could stand up to the guru of the Jeffersonian like this. It was calming to know though, that he could get Bancroft fired before he could fire him.

"I don't know where you have this information from Dr. Hodgins, but you have made your point. Thank you Dr. Saroyan," he said and Cam stepped off the stage.

~*~

"Hey there you two, what took you so long?" Angela asked when Brennan and Booth finally entered the Founding Fathers.

"We had to arrest Fargood," Booth grinned.

"Didn't you tell me that Caroline said that you couldn't charge him for murder?" Angela asked Brennan when they sat down across from her.

"We couldn't, but Caroline found other charges that when combined will add up to a hundred years in jail," Brennan replied and still didn't look too happy. "I still believe though, that he should be charged for murder as well," she added.

"We can't get them all," Angela shrugged and waited while they both placed their orders. "Cam didn't want to come?" she asked, because when she called Brennan, she had mentioned that Cam was still at the lab as well and that usually meant that she came along.

"She has a committee meeting tonight," Booth informed her.

"Oh ok. If I had known I'd have asked Jack to come along," Angela replied and wondered if she should call him, maybe he would still want to come instead of sitting alone at home.

"I think he went with her," Brennan said and surprised the other two.

"Hodgins? Jack never goes to those meetings. He hates them," Angela laughed it off.

"I saw them leaving together and he was dressed differently than at the lab, so he must have changed," Brennan insisted.

"You're sure they're not just out on a date somewhere?" her friend grinned, still doubting Brennan's theory.

"I still can't believe Cam's dating Hodgins," Booth shook his head.

"Hey, watch it G-man, I dated him as well," Angela protested, knowing that Booth's statement hadn't been really in Hodgins' favor.

"I didn't mean… you're just different," he stuttered a bit and Angela raised one eyebrow. "Ok, just forget I ever said anything," he muttered when he couldn't really explain what was going on in his head.

"I may not have seen them together as long as you two, but from what I have observed I'd say they're quite happy together," Brennan nodded.

"I'm surprised you have an opinion for once, but I have to agree. They seem to balance each other," Angela nodded. "And Jack was really down when they were apart. It was breaking my heart seeing him like that," she added with a sympathetic smile.

"Yeah, Cam was not doing so well either. She tried not to show it, but that she let it show just a bit just showed just how sad she was. She's really good at hiding her true feelings," Booth admitted and handed Brennan her plate of salad when it arrived.

"Did you know that Jack and I even went on a date?" Angela said then, sure Booth and Brennan hadn't heard that part of the story yet.

"Really?" he said, clearly impressed.

"Yes," she nodded. "We wanted to try again, but when I kissed him he didn't kiss me back and then admitted he didn't feel it anymore. Later I found out why," Angela said.

"And did you still feel it?" Brennan asked more out of scientific interest than having a feeling about it.

"Honestly? I did. If I could go back and change what happened, stop us from breaking up, I would. But he has Cam now and I have to move on," she said with a sad half-smile. "However it is hard, because Jack's an amazing kisser and even better…" she said with a naughty grin, but Booth stopped her before she could finish her report.

"Ok, I don't need to hear any more about Hodgins qualities," he stopped her, clearly uncomfortable.

"I don't mind hearing about it," Brennan shrugged and made Angela laugh.

"I'll tell you when we're alone," Angela winked at her and stole a fry off Booth's plate.

~*~

"What an ass" Cam said when they left the conference room, not really caring at this point who could hear her.

"Which one do you mean, there are so many to choose from," Hodgins laughed and held the door to the hallway open for her.

"You're right. But I have to say that even though Anderson is sleazy, he's usually defending me," she said and they both stepped into the elevator where some interns already were.

"I didn't hear him say anything today," Hodgins snorted.

"I think he was intimidated by you," she laughed. "And you impressed me," she added.

"I did, huh? With what exactly so I can repeat it," he grinned.

"With your professionalism and your behavior. I've never seen you in a room with so many suits and you did good," she complimented and they both stepped out of the elevator and into the underground parking space.

"Funny you compliment me on that. That's exactly what I was raised to do and then just refused by studying what really interested me. I never really fit in with those guys," he replied and searched the pocket on his suit jacket for the car keys.

"It was a nice change from the paranoid scientist," she grinned at him just as they reached his car.

"Isn't that the guy you fell in love with?" he asked and trapped her between his body and the side of the car.

"Let me think… maybe he resembled him a bit, but actually is was more the sweet, friendly, helpful, private Hodgins I fell in love with. The nutty scientist still irritates the crap out of me most of the time," she replied with a teasing smile.

"Nutty scientist, I'm gonna show you nutty scientist," he murmured before he kissed her. He pressed her against the car, his hands placed beside her head, his mouth hungrily attacking hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and tangled her fingers in his hair, playing with his curls while he kissed her.

"Dr. Saroyan, no wonder your employees are standing up for you like that," Bancroft interrupted their kiss when he showed up in the underground parking space behind them. A salacious smile on his face, his arms crossed in front of his chest. "Maybe you'd like to consult with me as well and I might think about that monitor for Dr. Hodgins again," he grinned. Cam felt Hodgins muscles clench in his arms and for a moment she feared he would just knock him out- which had been the first thought she had as well. Hodgins slowly turned around and faced his boss, who wasn't aware who he was talking to.

"You know, Bancroft, if I really want that damn monitor I could just buy it myself. But if you ever insult Dr. Saroyan again or demand sexual favors from any of your employees I'll have you fired," Hodgins threatened him.

"Dr. Hodgins, I don't know what you're talking about. And maybe I should see how long your contract is still running. Maybe it's time for a change. Two romances with female employers in the last two years, that can't be good for the team," Bancroft replied unimpressed.

"Usually I hate all the responsibilities money brings with it and the expectations people have when they find out who you are. But for the first time in a long time I'm glad for who I am and what I have, dude," Hodgins grinned.

"I'm sorry but I can't follow you, dude," Bancroft replied irritated and Hodgins stepped closer to him.

"Jack, leave it. Let's just go. We can deal with it on Monday," Cam said because she didn't want him to blow his cover just because he wanted to defend her. Having worked her way up the ladder, she was used to dealing with guys like Bancroft from time to time and so far she had always won. Hodgins was still glaring at his boss, seizing him up even though he was smaller than the older man in the expensive suit.

"I warned you," he said and turned around when Cam took his hand and pulled him gently away from Bancroft.

"Let's go, we have reservations waiting," she said softly and Hodgins nodded. He opened his car with a push on the car key and helped Cam in.

"You threatened Angela back when we blew your smuggling operation. You might have got out of it back then, but I will watch you. I will watch your every move and if you make the slightest mistake I will have your lazy ass kicked out of this Institute. Right now I might only be the crazy scientist to you, but that will change. Mark my words," Hodgins threatened lastly, which only made him laugh. Not caring about it, Hodgins got into the car and drove off.

The interlude had destroyed the mood and they rode silently through the night. Hodgins concentrated on the traffic and glanced over at Cam from time to time, who was staring out of the window. When they reached Grace's she got out of the car without waiting for him to come around and open the door for her like he usually did. She waited for him by the car and he got out releasing a deep breath. He took her hand and they entered the restaurant still not talking. They took their seats and looked into the menus, but Hodgins couldn't concentrate on the text.

"Are you mad at me?" he asked, lowering his menu so he could look at her when he couldn't take the silence anymore.

"Mad at you? No! Absolutely not. I'm just trying to keep myself from going back to the Institute and beating the crap out of his ass. I keep imagining all the ways I could hit him and kick him," she admitted. "The other alternative is me bursting into tears, which happens when I'm really furious. Kind of stupid," she shrugged and looked down on the table.

"Hey, let me take care of this, ok? Just forget about that idiot and let us enjoy our evening," he said and took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze.

"Ok," she nodded and they both concentrated on their menus again.

"When I was still working in New York I once had a boss who came onto me. Seeley wanted me to press charges but I couldn't because I couldn't prove anything. Later he was gone and although he doesn't admit it, I think Seeley had something to do with it," she said once they had ordered.

"No wonder women are always way bossier than men," Hodgins smiled and took her hand again.

"We need to be. You show weakness as a guy and they think you're empathetic. You show weakness as a female and you're fired because they think you're not authoritative enough for your job," she admitted.

"You're a great boss, and I'm not just saying that because I'm sleeping with you," he winked and made her smile for the first time since the meeting.

"Let's just forget about work for tonight. This is our first night out together in months," she smiled and leaned into his touch when he cupped her cheek.

"Now that the case is closed we should go on that back together date," he said.

"You have anything special in mind? Another illegal casino maybe?" she asked.

"Nah, that would be kind of boring now. I thought maybe we could go away together for a day or two. Fly to Hawaii, go to New York, book a lonely cabin in the woods somewhere…" he suggested.

"I like all three," she smiled.

"So it's up to me again," he grinned.

"You wanted that date so you have to come up with something. Just make sure I'm free at work before you book anything," she said.

"Oh I know. The last two New York reservations I had to cancel and sell the tickets again," he admitted.

"Tickets? For what?" she wanted to know. "Some Broadway show?" she looked excited.

"That's for me to know and for you to find out," he replied vaguely. The waitress brought the champagne they had ordered and handed them each a glass.

"To us," Hodgins toasted.

"To us," she replied and felt the tension of the evening fall off of her.

~*~

"Hey, good morning Michelle," he said when he opened the door the next morning and found his girlfriend's daughter at his doorstep.

"I bring breakfast," she smiled and walked into the house, waving three brown paper-bags.

"You are an angel. Cam was just wanting to send me to the kitchen to cook some," he grinned and closed the door behind her. "You know where to go, I'll go upstairs, wake the sleeping beauty and get dressed," he smiled at her and went upstairs, feeling slightly uncomfortable clad only in his boxer-shorts.

"Yup, make sure you're both decent," Michelle teased him and made her way into the kitchen.

"Who were you talking to?" Cam asked when he entered the bedroom and turned around so she was lying on her side facing him.

"Michelle is here with breakfast," he grinned and put on a T-shirt.

"Oh, God bless that child," she grinned and sat up. Naked as she was she got out of bed and went into his closet to get clothes for herself.

"Hey, hey, hey, good morning," he laughed when she just walked past him and he grabbed her by the waist.

"Good morning," she replied, pecked him on the lips and wiggled out of his embrace. "I'm hungry," she said when she saw the playfully offended look on his face. "And I think we said good morning thoroughly not even an hour ago." He grinned at the memory and took a pair of sweatpants from the shelf.

"Did you know that Michelle would come over with breakfast?" he asked her when she vanished into the bathroom, but left the door open.

"No, would I have kicked you out of bed otherwise to cook breakfast?" she replied, her voice echoing in the bathroom.

"When you're hungry one never knows," he replied and stepped into the bathroom. He grabbed his toothbrush from the cabinet over the sink while she was washing her face at the other sink.

"I'm actually intrigued that she is here. Usually when she wants something she just calls," Cam wondered aloud and dried her face with a towel.

"Maybe she just wants to spend time with us," he shrugged innocently, his mouth full of foam.

"Nah, there's something going on. No way she would get out of bed before ten on a Saturday morning and bring breakfast. It' a schmear," Cam knew and shook her head.

"Ready to face the demon?" he grinned after he had rinsed his mouth.

"Yes. The fact that we'll spend the rest of the day in the pool and lying in the sun is very calming," she grinned and they made their way downstairs.

~*~

"So, Michelle, as happy as I am that you're here, you still haven't told me what brings you here," Cam said warily by the end of the breakfast. They were all sitting out on Hodgins' large terrace, making use of the great weather. Michelle had brought all kinds of muffins and bagels as well as coffee, and Hodgins had supplied fresh pressed orange juice and pancakes.

"Does there always have to be a hidden agenda?" the teen asked innocently but looked even more nervous than before.

"For you to get up before ten on the weekend? Absolutely," Cam nodded convinced and Hodgins just grinned.

"Ok, uhm, you remember Perry right?" Michelle finally started to talk about what was really on her mind.

"The senior from your drama group?" Cam nodded. Hodgins leaned back in his chair, holding his glass with orange juice in both hands and watched the show.

"Yes, the one who I went to the cinema with a couple of times," Michelle said. "You know, tall, with brown eyes…" she went on.

"I think we've established that I remember him," Cam replied and bit back on a grin.

"Well, there's this formal two weeks from now and everybody goes. It's not that late or anything and teachers will be present," Michelle rambled.

"He asked you to go to the formal with him," Cam spoke out loud what Michelle wanted to say.

"Yes. He wants me to come as his girlfriend. Please say yes, please, please," Michelle begged and gave Cam her best puppy dog eyes.

"Alright, I'll think about it. But if he's your boyfriend now I want to meet him," she smiled.

"You already met him when he picked me up," the teen protested, obviously not too fond of the idea.

"Then I want to re-meet him. Invite him to dinner or something," Cam shrugged, unimpressed by the protest.

"You can't cook," Michelle tried to wiggle her way out of it.

"Oh, I can cook for you, I don't mind," Hodgins smiled innocently and Michelle narrowed her eyes at him.

"I bring you two breakfast and allow you to take her away for a weekend and now you're ganging up on me?" she asked him and he had to laugh.

"Look, you invite him over for dinner and after I met him I'll think about the formal. Or I don't meet him and you forget about the dance," Cam shrugged.

"You're mean," Michelle pouted for a moment, then suddenly her face lit up. "Can I invite him over here today? I already told him about your house and it'd be so cool to spend the day at pool, and that way you'd both meet him," she said, liking her own idea. She wasn't aware of the fact that she had just destroyed a romantic day for her legal guardian and her boyfriend. Cam looked at Hodgins with a look that clearly said "I'm sorry", and he shrugged helplessly. He knew he had to say yes, it came with the deal of dating Cam.

"Ok, call him. But make it short! I don't want Jack to go bankrupt because of the phone bill," Cam agreed and Michelle was off like a flash a moment later. The adults both just sighed, their romantic afternoon history.

~*~

"And what do you think about him?" Hodgins asked when he and Cam entered the kitchen later that afternoon to fetch some drinks for the kids and themselves.

"I think he's a nice guy, intelligent and polite," she replied and took the glasses out of the cupboard.

"But?" he dug deeper and took the orange juice out of the fridge. Cam had been tense all afternoon and had watched the teens like a hawk.

"No but, I like him," she shrugged and placed the glasses and the container with the juice on the tray.

"O-kay," he just said, not really buying it. If she didn't want to talk about it now he would leave her alone, knowing that she would break at one point and then spill the beans. "You think we need ice?" he asked her instead.

"Might be better, it's pretty hot today," she agreed and watched him when he filled the glasses with ice cubes. Anxiously she looked over her shoulder in the direction of the pool, which she could not see from the kitchen.

"You're worried they're drowning?" he grinned knowingly.

"I'm worried about what they're doing and drowning hasn't been the thing on my mind," she said and looked over her shoulder again.

"They're probably doing the same thing we would be doing right now if we were alone out there," he said and placed the glasses back on the tray.

"Oh my God, you think they're having sex right now?" she exclaimed and wanted to hurry out of the kitchen. He just grabbed her by her waist and held her against him to keep her from hurrying off.

"Would we be having sex if they were in the kitchen getting the drinks?" he laughed about her panic and found her amusing.

"No, of course not. They could walk in on us," she shook her head.

"So I highly doubt they'll be having sex now. Especially because to me it looks like they haven't even made it past the stage of kissing yet," he grinned, still holding her close.

"How do you know?" she asked him sounding unsure.

"Because they're barely touching each other. The poor guy is so unsure that he doesn't even dare hold her hand. And it's not because of us, but because it's all so new. They're still walking on eggshells around each other. Haven't you noticed how Michelle pays attention that her hair won't get wet and her lip-gloss is always perfect? Believe me, they're still at stage one," he said knowingly.

"How many stages are there?" she asked and relaxed slightly before she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Four. Phase one is holding hands and getting to know each other. Phase two is making out and being more comfortable. Phase three is hot and dirty sex. And phase four is yelling at each other, arguing over the TV program after fifteen years of marriage," he informed her and made her laugh.

"And which phase are we in?" she smiled and cocked her head to the side.

"Three, baby. We started with three and we're stuck with three," he grinned cockily and she laughed again.

"We did not start with three. I remember you trying to hold my hand when I changed your bandages," she shook her head.

"Ok, maybe we sped through phase one and two. But I really like number three," he replied and started nibbling on her neck while he walked her backwards until she was pressed up against the fridge.

"Book that weekend trip so we can make use of phase three while it lasts," she said and responded enthusiastically to his kiss.

"Cam, Dr. Hodgins, Perry and I are… Geez, do you always have to do that?" Michelle exclaimed when she walked into the kitchen and busted the two adults. "How embarrassing would it be if Perry saw you like this?! Please, don't ruin this for me before it has really started," she begged and slowly Cam and Hodgins let go of each other.

"Sorry, but what did you want?" Cam asked and made Hodgins smile when she blushed.

"I just wanted to see why you were taking so long with those drinks," she said and took the tray from the counter. "If you're not out there in five minutes, decently and behave, I will come along for that weekend you have planned," she threatened and left the two alone again.

"Ok, I guess we better follow her, before she makes that threat come true," he sighed playing with the hem of her black top.

"Why, Jack, we still have four minutes and thirty seconds," she grinned and kissed him again.

~*~

"Michelle has everything she needs?" he asked when he slipped under the thin cotton sheet later that night and switched on the lamp on the bedside table.

"I think so. She has enough stuff here already as it is. Two more days here and she'll have moved in," Cam rolled her eyes, thinking about the guest room in Hodgins house that Michelle already called "her" room.

"Hey, you have a slight sunburn on your nose," he said when he moved closer to her and gently touched her face.

"Every time you threw me in the water the sun block washed off," she said with an annoyed look, though he could tell it wasn't too serious.

"Why didn't you use one that's waterproof?" he asked, looking like it was the most normal thing to do.

"Because I didn't have any left at home and I was too lazy to go shopping only for sun-block. I'll buy some next time I hit the stores," she replied.

"Am I imagining this or do you really have freckles?" he asked, still inspecting the skin of her face, squinting at the skin on the bridge of her nose now and running one finger over it.

"I tend to get them, yes. That's why I am glad that there's make-up so I can cover them up," she said.

"They're barely visible and it's cute. I like them. Kind of like Pippie Longstocking," he smiled and placed a kiss on her nose.

"Crazy squint," she replied with a smile and let her hand lovingly stroke over his hair.

"You're free tomorrow?" he wanted to know next and laid down, getting in a more comfortable position. He pulled her against him and she snuggled into him, her head resting on his chest.

"I think so, yes. Why?" she wanted to know.

"I promised Zack I'd pay him a visit tomorrow and I thought you'd like to come along," he let her know.

"Zack, I haven't seen him in a while," she admitted and her voice made it clear that she felt bad about it.

"See, one more reason to come," he smiled.

"Ok, let's see Zack tomorrow. When will we have to be there?"

"I said around nine, as soon as visiting hours start," he told her.

"Ok, wake me tomorrow and you better have coffee ready if I have to get up on a Sunday," she replied, pecked his lips and closed her eyes.

"Don't I know it. Good night, princess," he replied with a smile and kissed her forehead.

"Good night," she muttered already half asleep and he switched off the lights.

~*~

It was always depressing for him to come to this place, knowing that his best friend was stuck in here. It had that hospital atmosphere, but that was still better than a prison he thought. While they quietly waited in the visitors room for him she gave his hand a squeeze, knowing how he must be feeling and he turned his head and looked at her, offered her a small, thankful smile.

"Oh, you both came," Zack said when he entered the room, dressed in the usual grey uniform of the facility.

"Hey, man," Hodgins smiled upon seeing him and hugged him shortly and patted his back in a manly greeting.

"Hi Zack," Cam smiled warmly and hugged him as well.

"Dr. Saroyan," Zack replied in the same tone as if she was still his boss.

"I think it's time you start calling me Cam. We've known each other for a while now," she told him and placed a hand on his arm.

"Usually a formal addressing isn't dependent upon the time span one has known each other but upon the status of the relationship and the appropriateness," Zack replied as they walked towards the table in the middle of the room. Cam looked at Hodgins, amusement written all over her face.

"Did he just shoot me down?" she asked him with a smile.

"Nah, he just needs to have a logical reason to make a change," Hodgins grinned back before he turned to his friend.

"She's not your boss anymore and she's the girlfriend of your best friend. Is that enough reason to call her Cam?" he asked him.

"Those are both legitimate reasons for me to call her by her first name. However I don't see the necessity of you speaking in third person about yourself," Zack replied and made them both laugh.

Cam ignored his former statement and asked, "So, how are you?", still smiling.

"I'm good, healthy, although a little annoyed at the moment because I have read my way through the library and they refuse to buy more books. I even gave them a list," he replied.

"Give me the list, I'll bring you the books next time," Hodgins shrugged.

"I don't have it here, but I'll make sure to give Dr. Sweets a copy," Zack nodded.

"How are your hands? Is the therapy helping?" Cam asked, knowing that he had some trouble with the flexibility.

"Yes, it is helping. Thank you again for recommending me to Dr. Grabbe," he said.

"You recommended him to a colleague?" Hodgins asked her, having not known about that before.

"Yes, Zack had some trouble the last time I came here and I called Tom and told him about it," she explained.

"It was during the time you were broken up, so you might not know about it," Zack added without any emotion in his voice, it was merely information to him.

"Did you tell him that we were broken up?" Hodgins turned to Cam, knowing he hadn't told Zack.

"No, I just assumed you did," she shook her head.

"Neither of you told me, but I am more perceptive than you think I am," Zack told them and they both looked at him with raised eyebrows. "When you first got together you always came here in a good mood and would smile when talking about the other. Also the frequency of you two mentioning the other increased. And then suddenly you both smiled less and would get that pained look on your faces when the name of the other would come up. Even Dr. Sweets is surprised that I can actually read facial expressions," Zack said somewhat proudly. Again they looked at each other, amused this time and Cam placed a hand on Hodgins' neck and drew small circled with her thumb.

"I brought you more riddles to solve," Jack said then and handed Zack the envelope he had in his jacket pocket.

"I hope they are more difficult than the last," Zack said and Cam looked down and shook her head with a smile on her face. This guy was truly unbelievable.

"Mr. Addy, there's another visitor for you," a nurse said when she entered the room and Angela followed her.

"Oh hey, I didn't know you would be here. I would have come another day," Angela said to Cam and Hodgins when she saw them.

"The more the merrier," Cam just shrugged, but let her hand glide down Hodgins' back before she took it away.

"Hey Ange," he greeted her with a small wave and she smiled back before she went and hugged Zack.

"Hey Sweetie, how are you? You're looking good," she complimented him and tugged on a strand of his freshly cut hair.

"Thank you, I'm fine and you're looking good as well," Zack replied politely and sat back down next to Angela.

"Now we just need some popcorn, beer and music and we could have a party," Cam joked.

"Alcohol is not allowed in here, Dr. Saroyan, uh, Cam," Zack replied.

"We'll get you out of here, Zack. I'm not sure yet how and when but we will, I promise," Hodgins said, sadness overtaking him and he sought out Cam's hand with his under the table, needing the contact. She linked her fingers with his and squeezed them.

"You cannot promise this, because there is nothing you can do. I was mistaken and it got me in here," Zack replied in his usual analytical tone. "And at the moment it is not that bad. One of the new nurses is quite pleasant to look at and an excellent person to talk to," he went on.

"You have a crush on one of the nurses, dude," Hodgins laughed. "Think you have a chance with her?" he wanted to know excitedly and Angela and Cam exchanged a look.

"I have thought about it and if I have interpreted the signs right I'd say I have," Zack nodded. "I heard her saying that she thinks I'm cute."

"Still, you're her patient," Hodgins thought out loud.

"Cam's your boss, I think my chances with nurse Leslie are just as high as yours were with Cam," Zack replied and sounded slightly offended.

"Did you just compare me to yourself when it comes to women?" Hodgins asked him, now the one who sounded offended.

"Should we leave you two alone so you can discuss this?" Cam asked them and grinned at Angela.

"Yeah, you two discuss this like men, maybe with a fistfight and we'll wait out there and girl talk," Angela agreed with a smile.

"I think I'm more afraid of you two girl talking than of the fistfight," Hodgins laughed.

"I can only say once again that I am stronger than I look," Zack insisted.

"Anyway, we will give you two some time," Cam said and stood up, Angela following her without protesting. They just knew that Hodgins and Zack probably couldn't talk as they wanted to talk with the ladies present.

"You think they will actually really talk or just exchange chemical formulas?" Cam asked Angela when they left the room.

"I honestly don't know, but for best friends these two have rarely talked in a way that I would talk to my best friend, even if she's just as… limited in some aspects," Angela told Cam and they sat down on the chairs by the door.

"Angela doesn't seem to mind seeing you and Cam together," Zack said when they had left and Hodgins looked surprised.

"I can't believe you just said that. Did you take classes in social behavior in here?" he asked his friend.

"No, it's just that we are not in a work environment and it feels more adequate to talk about these things," Zack let him know.

"You never change," Hodgins grinned. "And no, the two ladies still get along. Angela helped me a lot when me and Cam were broken up and Cam knows that Angela is just a friend. She's not jealous anymore."

"Can you give me some advice on how to pursue Leslie?" Zack asked him next after a moment of silence.

"Sure, tell me about her and I'll see what I can do," Hodgins nodded enthusiastically.

~*~

"Didn't you say that you were going to spend this weekend with your dad?" Cam asked Angela while they were waiting for Hodgins.

"He stood me up yesterday and when I called him he said something about a gig for a friend," Angela said and sighed. "So I decided to come here so I have something to do. I was also thinking about going swimming later, but alone that kind of sucks."

"We spent yesterday lounging around Hodgins' pool with Michelle and her new boyfriend. He's coming over again today," Cam reported.

"Oh, juicy. What's he like?" Angela wanted to know.

"He's nice. As nice as the boyfriend of your daughter can be," Cam replied. "And he makes me feel old," she admitted.

"Why? Did he say something?"

"No, it's more the fact that Michelle is old enough already to have a boyfriend. I still see her as the little four year old she was when I met her for the first time," she said.

"Oh come on," Angela laughed just as the door opened and Hodgins came out, closing the door behind him.

"Where's Zack? I wanted to say bye at least," Cam asked.

"Leslie's shift started and he's busy now. He told me to thank you both for your visit though," Hodgins grinned.

"Oh, he really has a crush on that nurse, huh?" Angela was excited about this, that much was obvious.

"Yes, I gave him some advice," Hodgins nodded proudly.

"Oh… my…" Cam let slip and Hodgins turned and looked at her, narrowing his eyes.

"What is that supposed to mean? You have any complaints you want to get off your chest?" he asked her, not really angry.

"No, none whatsoever," she laughed and kissed his cheek.

"Hey you two lovebirds, you mind if I come over later to cool off at your pool. That way I won't get bored and can check out Michelle's new guy," she asked.

"Sure you can come over. You know the way," Hodgins shrugged and Cam nodded, agreeing with him.

"Ok, then see you two later," Angela smiled and wandered off.

"I figured if we have two or three people around spoiling our fun, doesn't matter in the end," Hodgins said when she was out of earshot.

"Mmh. Seems like we won't get a moment to ourselves until we run away for that weekend," she agreed with him.

"Life sucks sometimes," he sighed, wrapping one arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple.

~*~

"You ok? You're being quiet," Hodgins asked Angela later when Cam, Michelle and Perry were inside getting snacks and drinks ready for all of them.

"I guess it's just weird seeing Cam here like this," Angela admitted.

"You mean in a bikini?" he grinned teasingly.

"No, I mean her being here as your girlfriend," Angela grinned back at him.

"You knew that before you came here and you see us every day at work," he pointed out the obvious and wiped a drop of water from his forehead that was running down from his wet hair.

"Still it's different having glimpses at the lab, where you are very discreet by the way, and seeing her here, making sandwiches in your kitchen and answering your phone," she said.

"She knew it was only Wendell," he said unimpressed, although he knew that he had told her several times already that she should just answer his phone when she was over. Most times it had been Michelle, sometimes it had been the Institute or someone from the Cantilever group. If he was in the bathroom or just cooking she answered his phone and neither minded.

"Still weird for me. I used to live here," Angela said.

"Wait, wait, wait, you never really officially moved in here. You didn't want to," Hodgins felt the need to point that out.

"And yet it sometimes felt like I did live here. What about Cam? Will she move in? After all Michelle already has a room here," Angela wanted to know.

"I haven't asked her yet because I think it's still too early. But I would like her to move in, sure. And Michelle is just calling the guestroom 'her' room. But if they really move in I'll have one of the guesthouses renovated for her, if she wants that," he said.

"So you and Cam can have the main house to yourselves?" she grinned knowingly.

"So Michelle has some space and her own place, if she wants that. And yes, Cam and I could use some time alone," he grinned.

"Dr. H. you want grilled cheese or tuna?" Michelle called from the terrace door.

"Grilled cheese, but only if you're the one cooking. Send Cam out here before she starts a fire," he called back and made Michelle laugh.

"Sure, I'll tell her," she said before she disappeared back inside.

"Cam can't cook" Angela grinned.

"No, absolutely not. Same talent in the kitchen as you. You two manage to even let water burn," rolled his eyes.

"You told her to throw me out of the kitchen?" Cam shrieked when she hurried out of the house and towards his deck-chair. She had slipped in some shorts and a neck halter top before she had gone inside. He grinned at her, amused by her shrieking, but once he saw the champagne cooler she held, which was filled with ice cubes, he stopped grinning and jumped up.

"Oh, no you don't," he said and held up his hands, took another step back when she kept coming closer.

"I will, you need to be punished. Telling my daughter to throw me out of the kitchen," she said and had him backed up to the edge of the pool. When she raised her arms to dump the ice cubes over his head he took her by the wrists and tried to prevent it. She was faster though and a second later the ice-cubes rained down on him.

"Holy shit!" he yelled and brushed them off his hair while the two women out with him started laughing. He wiped the ice cold water off his chest as good as he was able to with his bare hands. Still gasping for air he grabbed Cam by her waist and pulled her against him.

"No, you're cold," she squealed, still laughing hysterically. He didn't let her go, but just let himself fall backwards into the pool, pulling her with him. Even under water he still held onto her and made sure they got back up over water as quick as possible.

"I'll make you pay," he threatened while she spit out the water she had swallowed, then coughed.

"You want me to drown?" she gasped out between coughs.

"Nah, just making sure the score is still balanced," he grinned and waited until she calmed down a bit.

"Don't dunk me," she whined, wrapping her arms around his neck. Her face was so close now, her eyes pleading playfully with his. He had had every intention of dunking her time and again, until she would beg for mercy, but now that he had her close for the first time that day he couldn't. She was breathtakingly beautiful with her wet hair, water drops on her face, an amused twinkle in her eyes and her pouting lips. He fell under her spell again, leaned in and kissed her, forgot about everything else. She felt the same way, the same sensations running through her, and she responded eagerly to his kiss, closing her eyes.

"Oh no, they're making out again," Michelle groaned when she came out with Perry a minute later and placed the sandwiches on the table beside Angela's chair. "That's so embarrassing," she told Angela and actually blushed when she realized that Perry had seen them as well. "Hey you two! Stop it! My threat concerning your weekend is still standing!" she yelled at the kissing couple. When Cam wanted to pull back, Hodgins had another idea. He placed a hand on the back of her head to keep her close and pulled her under water with him. There they could at least make out as long as they didn't need to breathe. And that was more than they had got all day.

~*~

"Michelle had been asking for months if we can get a kitten. I'm thinking no," Cam said the next morning while she leaned over their newest victim, examining it.

"Actually it's much more likely the family dog would attack and consume its owner," Wendell replied and focused on the area of the knees. They were the only ones examining the victim at the moment. Brennan had done her first analysis when they had found the corpse and Hodgins was off with the cats who had eaten the guy.

"Can you pass me the forceps? I think I see something," Cam said, while looking at the monitor and held out her hand to Wendell, who stood beside the tray. When he handed her the instrument she pulled out a long grey thread.

"That appears to be steel wool. I found it in the exit wound," she said.

"Steel wool, commonly used in silencers to muffle the sounds of a gunshot," he agreed.

"A silencer definitely points to a professional hit," Cam said aloud what she thought.

"And Ilizarov apparatus was used to lengthen his bone when he was a child so he was definitely Russian," Wendell said when he looked at the leg.

"Don't people limp in every country?" Cam wasn't convinced.

"Prior to 1981 the Ilizerov apparatus was used exclusively in the Soviet Union. Ergo, dead Russian," Wendell knew and impressed his boss.

"Very good Mr. Bray," she complimented.

"Yeah, I don't often get to say ergo," he grinned, just as Hodgins swiped the card through the reader and entered the platform.

"And for bonus points, any clue why his hand was chopped off?" she wanted to know.

"The bone has been chipped and bruised around the triquetral, like someone was trying to pull something off the wrist," he said after picking up the hand.

"And when they couldn't, they cut off his hand," she finished and looked up when Hodgins stopped by the table, a tray in his hands.

"Wendell, my man, we still on for lunch?" he asked the intern without greeting Cam, because they had seen each other earlier that day already. Several times actually, waking up next to each other being the first time.

"You are discussing lunch while holding a tray of cat excrement," she asked, sounding grossed out by it.

"Everybody poops. They even wrote a book about it," he told her and tried to hide his amusement about her squeamishness. "I found a piece of plastic in one of the cat's physis from a bag of airline peanuts," he went on and handed Wendell the plastic.

"Aeroflot," Wendell read aloud.

"Yup, preferred airline of mother Russia," he nodded.

"Looks like our Russian friend was a recent arrival," Cam agreed and looked down on the body again.

"You're coming with us?" Hodgins asked, still holding the tray, as Wendell placed the plastic back on it.

"To lunch?" she asked him and stared at the petri dishes.

"Yup," he nodded.

"I think I'll pass this time. I would see you standing here with your cat excrement the whole time and that would surely put a damper on my appetite," she replied and walked off with a smile.

"Touchy," Hodgins said loudly watching her walk away. She only shook her head and waved before she disappeared into her office.

**TBC**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks to Gianna for the amazing and fast beta work**

**I can only hope that someone is still out there reading and that said someone will like this chapter. **

* * *

**Chapter 3: Spies and surprises**

"Hey, how did the parent teacher conference go?" he asked her when she picked up the phone and lay back against the pillows.

"I forgot how incredibly boring those are. In my memory they were more… fun," she admitted and put her book on her nightstand.

"Guess over the years fantasy and reality got a bit mixed up, huh?" he teased her and she could hear the rustling of a bag.

"You're having a chips orgy now that you're alone?" she grinned knowingly.

"Yah, you know my girlfriend can't keep her hands off my chips and then afterwards always complains about weight gain and extra gym hours. So I'm making use of the fact that she abandoned me tonight and eating some of my favorite chips. Sooths me over being all alone in this big house," he sighed dramatically and made her laugh again.

"I didn't abandon you, I had to go to Michelle's school and I wanted to be here when she got back from her date with Perry. You could have stayed over though," she shrugged, knowing that he could not see her through the phone.

"And you're saying that now? I was waiting for the invitation all day long and cried when none came" he shrieked and made her snort.

"As if you need an invitation to my place. You still have my spare key."

"You want it back?" he asked her and it didn't sound as teasing as the rest of their conversation had been.

"No, I don't want it back. I didn't say anything. I merely meant to point out that you're over all the time without an invitation. Last Wednesday you nearly gave us a heart-attack," she replied, referring to the day she and Michelle had come home only to find him moving around in their dark apartment. Cam had nearly knocked him out with an umbrella.

"I miss you," he said in reply and sounded weepy.

"I miss you, too," she admitted with a smile that was audible in her voice. It always made her giddy when he said things like that all of a sudden.

"Spending the night apart was a stupid idea. Next time you make Perry drop off Michelle at my place and stay here again," he said.

"I think this is the first night we're spending apart since we got back together," she said, speaking aloud what she had been thinking about."It is, and as I said: Stupid idea," he insisted.

"Did you finalize the contract you were talking about?" she asked him next, remembering the real reason why he hadn't been able to stay at her place.

"No, the accountants see some kind of problem now, I don't know. Can we please not talk about work?" he requested.

"What do you want to talk about?" she asked him with a sultry smile and snuggled deeper into her pillow; actually his pillow. She had pulled it over from his side so she would at least have something that smelled like him. Yes, she was that pathetic, she admitted to herself.

"You. You and me. Us. How much I wish you were here right now," he replied, his voice vibrating with the innuendo of the statement.

"Mmh, what would you do if I were there?" her grin got bigger.

"Oh please, I so don't wanna hear that. Would you two hang up already!" There was suddenly a third voice on the line.

"Michelle!" Cam shrieked and bolted up in bed, her face hot with embarrassment.

"Hi Michelle," Hodgins laughed out loud and had trouble speaking because he was laughing so hard.

"Don't greet her, don't talk to her. And what are you doing on my phone call?" Cam first addressed Hodgins then Michelle.

"I want to talk to Perry and you're blocking the line. We only have ten more minutes left and then he's not allowed to call anymore. So hang up!" the teen ordered.

"That doesn't give you the right to eavesdrop on my phone calls," Cam was still upset.

"Do you really think I wanna hear that? One more minute and I'd have nightmares for the rest of my life," Michelle replied while Hodgins continued laughing.

"You're hanging up now and I'll tell you when we're done," Cam ordered and waited until she heard a click on the line before she spoke to Hodgins again. "And you stop laughing."

"I'm sorry," he said, but couldn't stop.

"I guess we should really hang up now before she's back," she said and Hodgins sobered a bit.

"Ok, see you tomorrow at work," he agreed, the amusement still present in his voice.

"See you then," she replied. Then there was silence as both refused to be the first to hang up.

"I love you," he said after a while, breaking the silence.

"I love you, too. And now hang up," she smiled.

"No you hang up," he disagreed.

"No you," she laughed.

"Cam!" came the unnerved yell from the other side of the apartment.

"Bye," he laughed and really hung up this time.

"Phone's free," Cam yelled back to Michelle.

"Finally!" she heard her groan loudly. For a second she thought about eavesdropping on Michelle's call as well, but then decided against it. Instead she switched off the lights, rolled to her side and rested her head on his pillow.

~*~

The next day Hodgins was consulting with Angela in her office and together they had managed to re-create the scenario of the car running over their victim. They had a weight, they had the color, now it would only be a matter of time until Angela would find the brand of car.

"Oooh, trade name _Casino Royal_. That should narrow things down a bit," Hodgins said when he looked up the name his computer had given him after analyzing the paint chips found on the parking deck.

Just then Cam hurried into the room."Hey, have you two seen Dr. Brennan?" she asked them, but Hodgins didn't hear her. His eyes wandered over her body while she spoke. She was wearing one of those tight dresses again, this time one he hadn't seen before. Maybe it was the new dress, maybe it was the fact that he hadn't seen her since the evening before, but he was stunned into silence by how beautiful she was.

"Yah, I think she's with Booth. Why?!" Angela reacted instead and didn't miss the smile on Hodgins face, which Cam strangely enough didn't seem to notice.

"It appears Mr. Bray has lost his scholarship. No scholarship means no internship at the Jeffersonian," Cam replied and this time her words actually reached not only Hodgins ear but also his brain.

"What? Well, how did that happen?" he asked shocked. He hadn't seen this one coming.

"Apparently the trust that funds his scholarship ran out of financing because of the economic mess," Cam explained and looked sad.

"Oh, that stinks. I like Wendell," Angela said.

"Hey, we got drunk together last week, carries great meaning for men," he replied and looked at Cam, remembering that she had been the one to pick the two of them up and lug them back home.

"He's one of us, even Booth likes him," she agreed with the two of them.

"Well, how did he react?" Angela wanted to know.

"I haven't told him yet. I wanna see if there are other funding options," Cam said, the sympathy for Wendell shining in her eyes. And he entered Angela's office right at that moment, just as the picture of the car popped up on the screen.

"What's that?" the now scholarship-less intern asked clueless-ly.

" Hey," Cam and Angela said simultaneously and with too bright smiles.

"Dude, what's new?" Hodgins laughed, for the lack of anything better to say.

"Uhm, since you saw me on the forensic platform five minutes ago, not much. You?" Wendell asked back and narrowed his eyes at the three.

"Nothing," Hodgins replied innocently.

"Nothing from here," Cam agreed.

"Zippo on my end," Angela was just as inventive.

"It appears you have a match for the car that ran over our victim, that's new isn't it," Wendell said, still wondering about their strange behavior.

"Yes, I do, yes, you are something Wendell, you really are," Angela said while Hodgins was already staring at the screen and Cam was looking strangely at him, now that she had realized how he had been looking at her.

"Unbelievable," Hodgins said when he saw the car on the screen.

"That's crazy. Casino Royal and that car," the intern agreed with him.

"That is Bond's car. James Bond," excitement was written all over Hodgins' face.

"Those wheels and the silencer. You haven't by any chance found evidence of a martini, shaken not stirred," Wendell said and started a round of British mumbling between him and Hodgins, which the women watched with amusement.

"So, you believe James Bond killed our Russian," Cam teased them.

"Well, no. But come on, there was more than a grain of truth in those Bond films," Hodgins replied and that glint from before was back in his eyes, the half smile on his face.

"Pussy Galore, that's never gonna happen," Angela shook her head.

"Ah, we can always hope," Wendell grinned.

"Boys and their spy fantasies," Angela rolled her eyes and exchanged a look with Cam.

"I'll tell Booth to put out a search for the car," Cam said and walked out of the room without another word to Hodgins, who was still busy staring at the screen with the car.

"Trust me, Angela, nothing is as it seems," he grinned, only shortly taking his eyes off the screen.

"I know, I actually thought you guys were a little too psyched to see me when I came in here," Wendell remarked.

"Well, we can't be excited to see you Wendell?" Angela asked and the word "excited" made Hodgins remember something he had forgotten over the whole internship, scholarship and Bond thing.

"You got some intimacy issues there, man" he told Wendell and walked past him, falling into a jog when he was sure they weren't paying him any attention. He jogged through the lab to Cam's office, threw his lab coat on his chair by the platform and found her leaning against her desk, talking on the phone. He watched her, waited until she hung up, then entered her office.

"Jack?" she asked when he entered and put her cell-phone down on her desk.

"Do you have a minute? I need to show you something. Something that has been bugging me for a while now," he told her and she looked curiously back at him.

"Sure," she shrugged and followed him out of her office and through the lab. She raised both eyebrows when he stopped in front of the men's room. He took out his card and unlocked the door to the room that was only used by him, Brennan's male interns and sometimes Booth. The lab techs had another bathroom next to their lunch room.

"You're sure this is the room where you need to show me something?" she asked warily, a picture where this was going already forming in her head.

"Sure, you can even leave the door open if you don't trust me," he shrugged innocently and stepped inside. He waited in front of the sink for her to follow him and with a sigh she stepped into the room, but really left the door open. She didn't want the people who had seen them entering the room to get any wrong ideas. She crossed her arms in front of her chest. Not because she was angry or bossy, but because she had to keep her hands "locked away" to be able to control herself in the semi secluded space of the bathroom. Hodgins always thought the "keeping hands off each other" rule was only hard on him, which couldn't be farther from the truth. She just couldn't risk losing her stand at the lab because of her libido.

"Would you please look at this?" he asked her and pointed to the soap dispenser.

"That's soap," she nodded.

"Can you see that this soap dispenser is only half full?" he asked her and she stepped closer to it, pretending to take a closer look.

"Yes, I can see that," she nodded again.

"This soap dispenser should get re-filled every Monday morning and yet it is only half full. It is always only half full," he told her and stepped a bit away from the dispenser and the sink.

"You brought me in here to show me that the soap dispenser is only half full?" she asked him with raised eyebrows and leaned against the sink, her arms still crossed in front of her chest.

"Well, you were asked to save money in this department and I'm showing you now that the forensic department spends money on soap that never actually gets delivered," he nodded, his face still serious, although his eyes were twinkling dangerously. Then again, it could just be the light and her over-imaginative mind, Cam thought.

"Then, thank you, Jack, that is very helpful and will be mentioned in my next report," she replied and he nodded in satisfaction.

"That's a relief," he said and stepped closer to her, trapped her between the sink and his body. "You don't really believe I brought you in here to show you the soap dispenser, do you?" he whispered against her lips, his eyes hungrily staring into hers. With one hand he pulled the door shut, the clicking signalizing the automatic lock, with the other arm he circled her waist.

"Not really," she grinned and her eyes fluttered shut when he kissed her a second later. She uncrossed her arms and wrapped them around his neck. She pulled him closer and enjoyed the feeling of his lips on hers.

"You're driving me crazy with these tight dresses," he muttered, his hands wandering over her body.

"Glad you like them," she replied and managed to slip a hand underneath his shirt. He moaned quietly at the skin to skin contact when her hand glided up his back.

"Like them? Love them! Especially this one; zipper down the front? Absolutely perfect and so easy to take off," he whispered against her ear and then let his lips wander down her neck, kissing and nibbling.

"I missed you last night… and this morning," she told him, tilting her head to the side.

"No more nights spent apart without a really, really good reason," he said and then his lips were back on hers, more demanding than before. His hands wandered back to her hips and seemingly effortlessly he lifted her up and sat her down on the sink.

"Jack, we can't do this here," she mumbled between kisses.

"Just testing the stability of the sink. Wouldn't want them to screw us over on that one as well, huh?" he replied and sealed her lips with his before she could disagree again.

~*~

Later in the afternoon Cam was the one who sought him out, her steps heavy and her head hanging down. He was surprised when she closed the door behind her when she entered his lab, still dressed in her autopsy clothes.

"Why so gloomy, baby?" he asked her and was even more surprised when she stepped right into his arms. He didn't give a damn about the cameras and they weren't doing anything wrong, so he hugged her to him and stroked over her back.

"I just talked to Wendell," she said with a sigh and slowly stepped out of his embrace and sat down on a chair next to the one he had occupied before.

"About his scholarship?"

"Yes, I wanted to know if maybe his family or the neighborhood could step in. His mother calls the scholarship _the miracle_," she reported and let him take both hands in his after he had sat back down.

"Angela is right; he worked his whole life for this. It's tragic that his dream ends here," he replied.

"And I just can't tell him. I have checked out every option, made several phone calls, but I can't find another way to fund his scholarship," she sighed. "Sometimes I hate being the boss."

"I also tried to talk to our guys over at Cantilever again, but they refuse to make an exception," he told her.

"It's just so unfair. I studied with a scholarship as well, several actually and I couldn't have done it without the money," she admitted.

"Hey, maybe we'll find another way," he tried to cheer her up and squeezed her hands gently.

"I don't think so, but thanks for the effort to try and make me feel better," she replied with a sad smile.

"Did it work?" he asked.

"Not really," she shook her head. "I should get back to work, I still have to fill out the reports from the autopsy."

"My place tonight?" he asked her when she got up.

"Yup, I already told Michelle to come right over," she nodded and pecked his lips before she was off again.

~*~

Later that evening Cam did one last round to get an overview of everybody's work before she would finally go home.

"Still no cause of death but the damage to the cartilage and the lumbar vertebra definitely indicate torture. He was bent in some very painful way for a long period of time. I'm analyzing the injuries to get to the exact position," Wendell told her. He was still doing his job with dedication, although he looked down, which was understandable.

"Well, strange thing is I found no contraction band necrosis in the myocardium in the heart," she replied.

"That means that he showed no signs of distress even after hours of torture. Isn't that impossible?" Wendell asked her.

"Unless the CIA underestimated this guy. Anyone who can take that kind of abuse makes James Bond look like a weenie," she told him and he burst out in laughter.

"Weenie?" he laughed.

"I'm sorry, I have no idea where that came from," she grinned back at him.

"I'm gonna miss you," he said timidly and with a small smile.

"Yah," she just said, truly touched and sad at the same time, that she would see him go.

"But I think we'll see each other outside the lab," he said then and she wasn't sure if it was a statement or a question.

"Next time I have to get you and Hodgins back home, when you're too drunk to stand," she smiled warmly. "Speaking of Hodgins, I have to get going. He installed himself in Angela's office about an hour ago and I'm sure he'll drive her up the wall with his conspiracy ideas and keep her from work," she remembered then. "Bye Wendell," she waved at him and was out of the room. When she reached Angela's office she found Jack on the couch, his feet propped up on the table, talking a mile a minute, while Angela tried to work.

"Oh, you're finally here to pick up your boy," Angela grinned at her when she poked her head through the door. "And sorry, Jack, but: Thank God!" she added.

"The spy fantasies again?" Cam asked knowingly and Angela nodded.

"Hey, not fair. Remember you're going home with me," he told Cam when he came to her and wrapped one arm around her waist.

"Yeah, but I know something that'll shut you up," she grinned at him.

"Oh really?" he smiled suggestively and leaned in, his lips hovering over hers.

"Mmmh, Michelle will be home," she grinned and just pecked him on the lips before she stepped away from him. Angela, who had been watching the show, laughed out loud.

"You're coming?" Cam asked him when he just looked at her with a slight pout on his face and stepped out of Angela's office. "Bye Angela, see you tomorrow," she called over her shoulder.

"Hey, wait!" he called and hurried after her, and just waved at Angela as a goodbye. The artist only shook her head and concentrated on the deciphering of the image.

~*~

"As much as I love the fancy dresses on you at work, and the one today will always have a special place in my heart, I like seeing you here in comfortable clothes. It's… homey," Hodgins said when Cam came into the kitchen after changing into grey sweatpants, a light blue tank top and a black hoody.

"Homey?" she grinned. "After a day in heels I'm always glad to be able to wear something comfortable for once," she went on and looked over his shoulder into the pot to see what he was cooking. She placed a kiss on his neck when she pulled back. Opening a cupboard, she took out a glass that she filled with tap water. Next she opened the drawer where he kept some of his medicine and took out the Tylenol package.

"You're having a headache?" he asked her when she took the two pills.

"Mmmh, I'm not feeling too well. I hope I'm not coming down with something," she said and rubbed over her eyes with one hand.

"Maybe it's the heels," he stated and threw some beans into the pot.

"Huh?" she asked, not understanding why he was suddenly talking about shoes. She looked down at herself, knowing she was standing barefoot in his kitchen.

"The headache, maybe it's the heels. Last night I saw some report where they said that wearing high heels all the time can result in back spasms, which lead to headaches and all kinds of other problems," he explained and stirred again.

"You were watching the discovery channel again," she stated with a knowing smile.

"Yup, how do you know?" he asked surprised.

"First of all, all you ever watch on TV are documentaries, cartoons or porn and second, every time you get these strange ideas you've been watching the discovery channel. Last time you were talking about sign language classes for toddlers, the time before that you were obsessed with the idea that Hitler's living in Nicaragua," she replied and hopped up and sat down on the island in the middle of the kitchen, opposite to the stove.

"It is possible that he is still alive and living there," he insisted, talking slowly, before he turned around. "And I'm not watching porn," he added in a loud whisper, fearing Michelle could hear them, wherever she was in the house.

"Is that why you're paying a small fortune each month for having _all_ the channels that are out there? If you had left out all the adult stuff you would save 50% of the money," she grinned.

"I knew it was a mistake to let you go through my bills," he muttered. "And I just ordered all the channels so I'd have a choice. Not for the… for those films," he insisted.

"Hey, you were the one who handed me the folder and told me to go through it. You lost your client ID for your cell phone company, not me. And if there was any system in the way the bills and information are sorted you would have saved us a lot of time," she argued back playfully.

"I get it, I get it, Miss perfect, it's all my fault," he held his hands up in surrender, but kissed her briefly before he turned back to the stove.

"You know, I really don't care what movies you watch when I'm not here. As long as Michelle has no access to them," she added as an afterthought, simply because it was the truth.

"Ok, but still, I'm not watching porn" he nodded, turned around and kissed her again before he looked over his shoulder to the food on the stove. "I think dinner's ready. Can you tell Michelle?" he asked her.

"Sure," she replied and walked over to the intercom to call her.

~*~

"Did you see the report that I sent over about the bug?" Hodgins asked during dinner.

"No, I was working on the body all day. Took a while, because I needed to take all the samples so Wendell could remove the flesh," Cam replied and dunked some bread into her chili.

"Ew, Cam, please. It's bad enough hearing you two talk about dead bodies all day, but can you stop it during dinner at least? Insects and removing flesh are not things I want to think about while eating," Michelle complained and the two adults chuckled.

"Sorry," Cam apologized.

"Hey, I wasn't talking about an insect, but about a bug bug. It was in the guy's watch," Hodgins grinned.

"Cool, like in those spy movies?" Michelle asked.

"See, now I'm cool again and only you're disgusting," Hodgins teased Cam.

"Mmh, until you talk about lunch while holding cat poop again," she replied sarcastically.

"And even though you and Angela don't think that could get me killed, it totally could!" he insisted, referring to their earlier conversation when he had stated that a lot of people would like to see him dead.

"Dr. Hodgins, I think the main reason why someone would kill you is to get your money," Michelle told him realistically.

"How do you know about my money?" he asked her and quirked an eyebrow.

"I may not be Einstein, but this house and the several cars in your garage are a clear indication," Michelle replied. "Also I heard you talking about the Cantilever group and then googled it because I thought you were some investor. You own it," she said as an afterthought.

"And what does that tell you?" Cam asked her.

"That if I ever want a really expensive Christmas gift, I'll ask Dr. H.," the teen grinned.

"Well, that as well, but also that you keep your mouth shut about it. Jack doesn't want anyone knowing about this, ok?" Cam started her lecture immediately.

"What do I get if I keep my mouth shut?" Michelle grinned cheekily at Hodgins.

"Hey, you better pay attention. I have lawyers that will bury you in so many claims you'll never see sunlight again," he threatened her with a smile and she grinned back.

"Duly noted."

"Speaking of money: Why the hell did Brennan tell Wendell about the scholarship thing today?"

"She said she thought you had already told him," Hodgins shrugged.

"I know I should have, but I wanted to wait until the end of the week," she added.

"Until you solved the case?" Michelle asked before she drank the rest of her orange juice.

"No, just so I had more time to look into other funding options again," Cam shook her head.

"You really don't want to see him go, huh?" Hodgins asked.

"Do you?" she asked back.

"No," he replied shortly. She was right after all. It was tragic that Wendell would have to leave the team, especially because none of it was his fault. The only thing he had done "wrong" was to be born the son of parents who didn't have as much money as others.

"Hey, can I be excused from kitchen duty tonight? I have so much homework it's crazy," Michelle asked and pushed her plate away from her.

"Sure. You can do it out here if you want once we've cleared the table," Hodgins decided.

"Sure you don't want to sit out here and talk mushy once I'm gone?" she grinned.

"I've to get some work done for the Cantilever group," Hodgins answered in the negative.

"Can't you do that tomorrow? It's a really nice evening out here," Cam asked him, hoping he would stay so they could do exactly what Michelle had said.

"Sorry, baby, not tonight," he said apologetically and quickly kissed her cheek before he got up and started to clear the table.

"So I'm on my own tonight?" she asked the two who were hurrying away with plates and pots in their hands.

"I'm gonna help you clean the pots, if that's what you're asking," Hodgins replied while Michelle just nodded and rushed inside.

"Nah, you go and do your work. I'm gonna clean up alone and then relax out on the patio while you're stuck in your office," she said and followed him into the kitchen.

"Thanks," he smiled and kissed her gently before he was off as well and she was alone with the dirty dishes.

~*~

"Michelle, have you seen Cam?" Hodgins asked later that evening when he stepped into the living-room confused. He had looked outside the window and found the patio pitch black, so he had looked for her in the bedroom and the bathroom, but couldn't find her there either. Kitchen, dining-room, and basement pool were empty and only Michelle occupied the living-room.

"Isn't she still outside?" Michelle asked.

"Without light? I thought she wanted to read," he replied and slipped through the door outside. When he switched on the light on the patio he found her sleeping in a deck-chair, the book open on her chest, the glasses still sitting on her nose. He laughed quietly when he saw her and took the book off her chest and placed the glasses on top of it on the table. He brought one hand to her feet and found them ice cold against his warm palm. She moved when he touched her and pressed her feet into his hand, but didn't wake up.

Carefully he slid his hands underneath her body and lifted her off the chair and into his arms. She sighed and moved slightly and he tightened his grip on her.

"Sleep, I'm just bringing you inside before you freeze to death," he whispered and placed a kiss on her forehead. She sighed again and her head lolled against his chest. With his shoulder he nudged the door open and paid attention that he wasn't bumping her into anything.

"She's asleep?" Michelle giggled when she saw her legal guardian in Hodgins' arms.

"Sssshhhh," he made. "She is totally knocked out," he smiled back at Michelle and then made his way upstairs. When he reached the bedroom he carefully placed her on the bed and took off the hoodie she still wore before he tucked her in. She rolled onto her side as soon as the covers were wrapped around her and moved closer to the side where he usually slept, obviously seeking his warmth in her sleep. He beamed down at her when he saw it, walked around the bed and gently kissed her lips, leaning over his side of the bed. "Sleep tight," he told her, knowing that she wasn't hearing him, before he quietly slipped out of the room and went back downstairs.

"You chucked her on the bed?" Michelle grinned when he sat down on the other sofa.

"I didn't _chuck_ her, I placed her there, very carefully," he grinned back. "What are we watching?" he asked and turned his attention to the TV.

"I haven't decided yet. It's down to the Gosselins or _Pimp My Ride_," she replied.

"I vote for _Pimp My Ride_," he said and held up one hand.

"Really? Do you even know what that is?" Michelle laughed surprised.

"Hey, I'm the only one at the lab who seems to go to the movies and owns a DVD player, so cut me some slack, would ya?" he protested and made her laugh again.

"Ok, I will," she giggled before her voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "By the way, were you able to book your trip?"

"Yes, flights are booked, staff informed, now you only need to pack her things and I can abduct her Friday morning," he nodded.

"You haven't told me yet where you'll be abducting her to," Michelle replied.

"I have a house in Palm Beach, that's where we'll be going. But I'll leave you the address, phone number and everything before we leave," he tried to allay her fears… or what he thought were fears.

"Cool, Palm Beach really? I bet your mansion there's directly on the beach," she exclaimed excitedly.

"It has its own private beach, yes," he admitted sheepishly and rubbed his neck with one hand.

"Wicked!" Michelle smiled. "Now I really wish I could come."

"Next time," he winked at her.

"Promise?" she squealed.

"Promise," he laughed at her excitement and lay down on the sofa, getting more comfortable for _Pimp My Ride_.

~*~

Happily Cam made her way to Brennan's office late the next afternoon, after they had solved the case. She found Brennan, Angela and Hodgins all lined up saying goodbye to Wendell, who looked like he would start crying any moment.

"Hold on a second," she told them when she stepped inside and could barely contain her joy.

"Don't worry; I wouldn't have left without saying goodbye," Wendell told her and she was truly touched.

"That's nice, but you don't have to leave," she told him and a bright smile broke out on her face.

"Excuse me?" he asked disbelievingly.

"I was just notified that they found new funding for your scholarship. You are covered in full for the next two years. Apparently a donation was made anonymously," she told him, still beaming.

"Anonymously?" he asked and looked around."Well, then please allow me to say thank you to anonymous," he said with a smile and obviously had the same idea that she had had when she heard of the donation.

"We still need all of the evidence photographed and catalogued before we send it to the Federal prosecutor's office, Mr. Bray," Brennan said immediately and without much emotion in her voice when he looked at her.

"Yes, Dr. Brennan. Right away," he said obediently and sobered for a moment before the smile was back on his face. "Thank you," he said again and had to clear his voice before he left the office and went back to work. Cam waited before he was gone before she spoke again.

"Actually, they received enough anonymous donations for three scholarships," she grinned at the other three and tried to catch Hodgins' eye.

"Mmmmh," Brennan made and didn't look as innocent as she pretended to be. _Was she the one who had made the donation, _Cam wondered.

"That is … quite a coincidence," Hodgins grinned knowingly at her and then slowly walked out of the office.

"It really is," Cam nodded and followed him, missing the knowing look that passed between Angela and Brennan. "Hodgins!" she called out to him loudly when he had nearly reached his workstation without stopping. She knew that he knew that she was following him and yet he just kept on walking.

"Yes, Dr. Saroyan?" he grinned and turned around, leaning with one arm on the surrounding of his workspace beside the platform.

"You wouldn't happen to know something about that donation?" she asked him in a hushed voice and stepped a bit closer so the lab techs, who were running around them, wouldn't hear every word.

"Maybe," he said but couldn't stop himself from smiling brightly when his eyes met hers. Her joy was contagious. "I might know something about a talk between a certain entomologist and a brilliant anthropologist concerning that topic," he said slowly and that's all he needed to say. She knew he had been the one who had initiated it and had ultimately convinced Brennan to join in. Knowing them both there was no other way. Now it was on her to surprise him when she stepped forward, grabbed him by his shirt and kissed him fully on the mouth. Instinctively his hands went to her hips as he held her close and participated eagerly in the kiss.

"Thank you," she said when she pulled back and blushed when she realized that all the lab techs were staring at them. While the "inner circle" of the team had known about them for a while now, the rest of the lab, as well as most interns, had still been completely clueless. Until now….

"Wait until you see what I have planned for the weekend," he grinned at her and pulled her even closer, refusing to let her go. He didn't care that they were all staring and whispering now.

"We're going on our date this weekend?" she asked him.

"Something like that. I took the liberty of taking the day off for both of us tomorrow," he nodded.

"I can't wait," she beamed up at him, kissed him quickly again and then untangled from him to get some more work done. After all they would play hooky tomorrow.

~*~

"I cannot believe that you have another mansion like this," she said completely stunned when they stepped into their domicile for the weekend.

"Come on, I'll give you a tour," he grinned and pulled her by her hand to the first room. "This is the living room and then over here is the kitchen and the dining room," he said while he hurried from one room to the next, pulling her with him. "First guest bedroom, and the second. Here's the bathroom. And we're back in the living-room," he said and opened the door that led out to the beach. Again he pulled her with him. "Here's the pool on the patio and there's the beach," he said, pointing into the general direction. "And now we can go back inside."

"Are you in a hurry? Do you have any plans for today that would explain you running through the house pulling me along with you?" she laughed when he stepped back inside and closed the door behind him.

"Yes, I have plans… we have plans," he nodded enthusiastically and took her hand again. He led her to the far right corner of the living room where the stairs were. He led her upstairs, didn't give her a chance to look over the living room from the gallery, and pulled her into the room at the end of the hall.

"And here we are, master bedroom, where we have an appointment… right now," he grinned and wrapped his arms around her before he kissed her.

"Really? We've been here for like a minute," she laughed disbelievingly when he had already unzipped her jeans and was unbuttoning her blouse.

"Everything else can wait. This is our back-together date weekend and you still owe me some make up sex," he replied before he sealed her lips with his again and kissed the amused smile off her face.

"Owe you?" she muttered while he maneuvered them over to the bed, her blouse on the floor now.

"You broke up with me and you were the crazy one while we were apart," he pointed out and pulled his T-shirt over his head.

"Mh, guess you're right," she agreed with him and unzipped his jeans, then let her hands wander up over his chest, then to his face. She cupped his cheeks and pulled away from his greedy lips.

"Thank you for forcing me to admit that there's more than a fling between us," she told him.

"You're welcome. Now shut up and let me love you," he ordered, kissed her again and pulled her onto the bed.

~*~

"Will we ever get out of this room?" she chuckled while she looked at him. She was lying on her side, her head propped up on her hand, while the other stroked over his chest.

"Of course we will. We have to christen the bathroom, the kitchen, the living room, the pool, our own private beach…" he grinned up at her, his hands linked underneath his head.

"Christen? Doesn't one usually only do that with a new house?" she laughed.

"It's freshly renovated, I think that counts," he grinned.

"You are _crazy_," she laughed heartily with wide eyes and shook her head.

"Why? Did you expect anything else out of this weekend?" he asked with a cocky smile.

"Honestly, not really. I enjoy just being with you, lying here, talking and laughing. No phone, no teenagers, no murder or work," she sighed and lay down, placed her head on his chest and let him envelop her with his arms. "We didn't have a lot of time to ourselves these last weeks," she went on, much more serious now. "Sometimes I miss you although you're right there at the lab," she admitted.

"I know what you mean. But I think that maybe if you loosened your rules at the lab a bit it would make it easier for both of us," he told her honestly.

"Hodgins, I know what you're hinting at, but lab or not, being the boss or not, I've just never been the gal for public displays of affection. I feel… uncomfortable being affectionate when other people are around," she said and looked up at him, found him watching her lovingly.

"Because it makes you vulnerable," he smiled at her.

"Yah," she agreed and looked back down, watched her fingers gliding over his chest.

"But everyone knows about us at the lab, even Bancroft. And those who know still respect you and don't make any inappropriate comments-" "Except for Angela," they said at the same time and both laughed.

"My point is that you have nothing to lose. Everybody knows you are crazy about me and can't stop thinking about me," she looked up at him and rolled her eyes, which made him grin even wider. "And if you would just let yourself enjoy this a bit more at the lab it might get easier for both of us," he shrugged before he let a strand of her hair glide through his fingers and tickled her nose with the end of it.

"There'll be no repeat of the bathroom thing," she warned him and made him laugh.

"Although that was 'wicked' to use Michelle's words."

"I would have died of embarrassment if anybody had caught us," she told him and stopped his hand that was still tickling her nose with her own hair.

"Ok, serious again: If you want a hug then hug me, if you want to hold my hand then take it and if you want a kiss then grab me and plant one on me. Just stop keeping yourself from doing that and give in every once in a while. I can see it in your eyes when you want that kind of connection and it's already hard for me to keep my hands constantly off you, but it's harder to watch your struggle when it's absolutely unnecessary," he said, the smile gone and his eyes unsmiling boring into hers.

"You're right and… I'll try," she said and kissed him softly.

"Wow, that must have cost you a lot of effort to admit that, huh?" he said to lighten the mood, smiling again.

"Dweeb," she laughed, but placed a kiss on the spot between his throat and his chest. "I'd really like to see the beach at least once while we're here," she said then.

"Ok, then let's do that," he replied and attempted to sit up, which wasn't as easy because she was half lying on top of him.

"You're letting me out of your bed that easily?" she asked surprised.

"Our bed and… nothing I haven't seen before," he winked and got out of bed.

"Hey, watch it, bucko, or you won't see anything again for a looong time," she slapped his butt and then followed him out of the bed, stumbling when her foot tangled in one of the sheets.

~*~

"No, no, no, no, don't open your eyes yet, keep them closed," he instructed as he led her down the narrow path to the beach. It was dark already and after a really short trip to the beach earlier that day they had spent the rest of it in bed. When the sun had set he got out of it and into the shower. He had told her to dress up and she had been surprised when she had found him dressed in a dress shirt and slacks when she was done. He had refused to tell her where they were going and had just led her outside and told her to close her eyes. They were both barefoot; because he had insisted on it, knowing it was more comfortable for what he had planned. She held onto his arm while he led her over the beach, one hand over her eyes, the other holding her hand.

"You're ready?" he asked her and stopped.

"Yes," she laughed happily and couldn't wait for whatever he had planned. Giddily she dug her feet a bit into the still warm sand.

"Ok, then open your eyes," he said and took his hand away. She waited another second and tried to brace herself for his surprise. When she did look she couldn't believe what she saw. They were standing on his private beach in front of a huge blanket that was spread out on the ground. Plates with all kinds of food were sitting on it, as well as a bottle of champagne in a cooler and two glasses. Around the blanket, torches were stuck in the ground and lit up the beach.

"Oh my…." She whispered and couldn't believe her eyes. Hodgins came up behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist and placed his chin on her shoulder.

"Happy six month anniversary," he whispered in her ear and softly kissed her cheek. She didn't react for a moment, still wide-eyed, trying to take it all in. Then she slowly turned around to him.

"I can't believe you remember that," she said quietly and it made him sad that her reaction showed clearly that no one had ever remembered a sixth month anniversary with her before, or had at least not made the effort to celebrate it. He couldn't dwell on that thought for too long though because suddenly her lips were on his in a long, sensual kiss.

"I hope you're hungry," he smiled after they broke the kiss and led her to the blanket.

"Starving," she nodded, the happiness radiating off her in waves. When they hit him they made him overjoyed and proud that he was the reason for her happiness, the smile on her face, the sparkle in her eyes.

"We have fresh bread, guacamole, lobster, all kinds of different salads and in the cooler over there is mousse au chocolat for dessert," he told her and handed her a glass of champagne. "But first… to us," he smiled and clicked his glass against hers.

"To us," she replied, sipped on her drink and kissed him again, careful not to spill the champagne.

~*~

"How did you do it?" she asked him later after they had eaten. They had grabbed some blankets and pillows from the patio and had come back down to the beach, where they were now comfortably lying in their usual position: Him on his back and her head resting against his chest, one leg thrown over his.

"I had help," he just smiled mysteriously and let one hand glide into her hair, massaged her skull lightly with his fingers.

"You really planned this, huh?" she asked and closed her eyes, enjoying his massage.

"Of course, perfect opportunity to spoil you a bit."

"You always spoil me, way too much. I feel like you're doing all those nice things, planning dates, taking me on a romantic getaway, organizing this for our anniversary and I don't give anything in return," she said.

"See, that is just one reason why I love you: You give me so much and you don't even realize it." He placed a kiss on her forehead, then another on the tip of her nose, one more on her right cheek, then her left.

"Like what?" she asked and opened her eyes, looking questioningly into his. "Give me only one example, because I honestly can't think of one."

"You let me into your life, into yours and Michelle's. Although you're still getting used to each other and trying to figure out how to be a family you let me into that, let me get to know her and make me feel like I'm a part of it," he said. "And I haven't been a part of a family for a long time… other than the one at work that is," he admitted.

"We're lucky to have you and Michelle likes you. Most of the time you take the tension out just by being there," she replied,

"Oh no, don't talk it down. It means a lot to me and besides, I could give you a lot more examples," he shook his head before he started massaging her skull again.

"Ok, you win. But only because I still think you're the better part of this couple," she motioned between the two of them.

"How about we call it even?"

"Deal," she agreed.

"What do you think about spending the night out here? It's not that cold with the blankets and I'm really comfortable and don't feel like getting up. And it's really romantic with the stars above us…" he smiled.

"There you go again, Mr. Romantic," she laughed. "And I like the idea," she agreed.

"Do you know anything about astronomy?" he asked her.

"No, more about astrology," she grinned and placed a lingering kiss on his lips. "Tell me something about the stars," she requested then, rolled onto her back and snuggled into the crook of his arm.

"Who is the romantic now?" he whispered teasingly in her ear and pulled her closer to him. She didn't say anything, just smiled. "Ok, see that bright star right there?" he asked and pointed up to the sky with his free hand.

"The one with a bit of a reddish glow?"

"No, more to the right, the one surrounded by the smaller ones," he said and started his little astronomy lesson. It lasted until he got tired of talking, finding her lips under his much more interesting than the stars above them.

**TBC**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Easy come easy go**

He could lie there for hours and just watch her, he decided. She was always beautiful, but this morning in the sunlight of dawn, with her disheveled hair and the sea in the background even more so. He had woken up when the sun had come up. Since he wasn't used to sleeping somewhere where it wasn't completely dark, one sunbeam and he was awake. He leaned down and softly kissed her cheek, her skin salty.

"You can kiss me for real, you know," she grinned without opening her eyes. He chuckled surprised and kissed her lips.

"I thought you were still asleep," he said and stroked her hair off her face.

"You watched me awake," she replied and blinked against the sunlight, trying to open her eyes. "What time is it?" she asked then.

"Still early, slightly after seven," he replied after checking his watch.

"I can't believe we really slept out on the beach," she smiled and rolled towards him, lying on her side.

"It's nice, though a bit cold," he replied and wiped some sand off her face.

"We should have stayed dressed, that would have helped against the cold," she laughed and was silenced for a moment by another kiss. "And now I have sand in places sand shouldn't be," she went on when they broke the kiss.

"You wanna go and take a shower?" he asked her, playing with her hair again.

"I'd love to, but shouldn't we first clean up here?" she wanted to know and looked to the plates and glasses that were sitting on the sand now.

"I have my people for that, remember?" he grinned.

"Ah, right. You keep mentioning that but I haven't seen anyone since we got here," she said.

"They're very discreet. They probably knew that you were awake before I knew it and breakfast will be ready by the time we get back."

"They can see us?" she asked slightly panicked and adjusted the blanket around herself.

"No, they can't. They're up in the house. If you want to I can introduce you when we get out of the shower," he offered.

"We? Didn't know you wanted to shower as well," she smiled teasingly.

"As if I would let you out of my sight for a second this weekend," he laughed and kissed her again.

~*~

"Wow, you weren't joking when you said they'd have breakfast ready once we've showered," she said when she saw the breakfast that was set up for them on the table out on the patio when they got out of the shower.

"Maria's a great cook, try the pancakes," he grinned and put one of the pancakes on her plate.

"Did she cook dinner last night?" she wanted to know and sipped on her coffee.

"Yes, Maria does basically everything around here. Her husband looks after the pool and the garden and she does the housekeeping and the cooking. They live directly next door in the smaller house you see when you enter the premises," he informed her.

"Seeing all this I'm really wondering why you're working, putting up with murder and having a boss. You could just lie on the beach all day and drink this amazing juice and eat pancakes," she mused.

"I did that for a while, after my parents died. But after some time you get bored and then you either start partying and consuming drugs or you search for something that fulfills you and gives your life a purpose. I found that in my studies and later at the Jeffersonian. Most of my friends did the same thing and those who didn't start working are either alcoholics, drug addicts or dead today," he replied.

"My best friend died from drugs after I went off to college. She overdosed, left behind a two month old son," Cam said.

"You blamed yourself?" he asked, knowing the feeling of losing friends like that.

"I did for some time. I thought that maybe if I had stayed nearby, or checked on her more often… then again she started consuming while we were still in school and I couldn't make her stop," she shrugged sadly.

"True. You tried anything yourself?" he asked curiously.

"The usual, nothing too extreme. You know about the cigarettes," she grinned and ate another bite of her pancake.

"Have you really quit now that you have your deal with Michelle?" he asked, doubting somehow that she would really keep her hands off the cigarettes.

"You don't believe me?" she asked him and faked hurt that he doubted her.

"I do, I just… you used to smoke when you were stressed or upset and it calmed you. You weren't really addicted, but more used to it. Changing habits is more difficult than getting the poison out of your system," he said truthfully.

"I first substituted the cigarettes with chocolate, but once we got back together it wasn't necessary anymore," she smiled at him.

"Oh, you found something else then?" he grinned.

"Kind of," her grin broadened and she got off her chair. He first looked confused but moved his chair back when she stepped towards him and sat down on his lap. "You make me needy, you know that?" she asked him and stole a strawberry from his plate.

"For fruit?" he teased her and pinched her waist.

"No, for you, for this. I was fine on my own for so long and then you come along and made me needy and clingy. I always made fun of those women that were yammering when their guy was gone for a day and here I am unable to spend a single night without you or without pulling your pillow over to my side. Really, really pathetic," she said with a nod.

"Actually I think we're doing a good job. When we're alone we can be as cheesy and needy as we feel like and when the other's are around we're the cool couple," he replied and fed her another strawberry.

"We would be a lot less cool if I let you do what you want to do," she laughed. She saw an elder woman coming out on the patio and turned her head, curiously looking at her.

"Jack, you wanted to talk to me?" the elder lady said with a friendly smile.

"Yes, I wanted to introduce you to Dr. Camille Saroyan. Cam this is Maria," he introduced them.

"No, no, stay," Maria smiled when Cam wanted to get off Hodgins' lap to greet her.

"Thank you for dinner last night and the breakfast. It was delicious," Cam complimented.

"Thank you, honey. It's my pleasure. Jack rarely stops by and we were already worrying that he would sell this place," Maria replied with a Spanish accent.

"I told you I just had a lot of work. If I don't stop by every six months, and for more than a day, Maria starts worrying I'll sell this place," he explained to Cam.

"A lot of people are selling their houses now because of the economic crisis," Maria added, the worry not gone.

"Maria, as long as I still have enough money in my private account I won't sell this house," he assured her. "You want to have breakfast with us?" he offered.

"I don't want to disturb you two," she shook her head.

"You're not," Hodgins disagreed, but Maria looked unsure.

"You're really not disturbing us. Coffee?" Cam asked and stood up. She was glad that against Hodgins wishes they had both dressed themselves in shorts and shirts. At least they weren't sitting there in bathrobes.

"Thank you," Maria smiled and sat down on an empty chair.

~*~

"So …nice," Cam moaned contently while Hodgins hands wandered over her back and massaged her sore muscles. She was lying on a deck chair on the patio beside the pool and he was sitting on her thighs, thoroughly massaging the sun-block into the skin of her back.

"I agree. Wouldn't want you to get sunburned," he smiled and poured more sun-block on her back.

"I don't care. I just don't want to move… ever again. I'm so comfortable," she purred.

"After the water fight in the pool and the massage in the whirlpool I wouldn't expect anything else," he said and kissed her neck, brushing her hair aside.

"Yeah… massage," she chuckled. "I wouldn't call that a massage."

"That's what I'm here for now," he replied and she knew he had that cocky grin on his face again, although she couldn't see it.

"And did you put on any lotion? Last time you had a sun burn you looked like a lobster," she giggled.

"Hey, it was around that time you fell in love with me, so it couldn't have been that bad," he protested and pinched her thigh softly.

"I didn't fall in love with you then," she shook her head without opening her eyes.

"No? When did you?" he wanted to know and stopped the movements of his hands.

"Don't stop, or I won't tell you," she complained.

"Then I'll tickle it out of you," he grinned and tickled the sides of her stomach.

"Stop!" she shrieked and laughed loudly. "That's not fair," she said when he stopped.

"Then tell me," he insisted and resumed the massage.

"We're going around in circles here, can't you see?" she chuckled and sighed again when he rubbed that spot under her shoulder blade, knowing it was one of her sensitive spots. She remained silent for a few more moments and then spoke again, softer this time. "The day Michelle and I had the fight about me staying out all night, when you cooked for us the first time? After that I knew I was in big trouble."

"I couldn't get you out of my head anymore after we moved Michelle in. I had a crush on you before that, a hot, bossy boss kind of crush. But after that day, seeing you with Michelle, talking to you all day long and seeing the more private and vulnerable Cam? Totally blew my mind. That's why I called you from the airport after I got back from Texas. I couldn't stop thinking about you," he told his part of the story.

"We really were idiots, Michelle's right," Cam smiled and slowly turned around on her back. Her bikini top that he had unclasped before slid off and dropped to the floor. He lay down on top of her and nudged her knees apart so he could rest his legs more comfortably.

"I hope you know that you're stuck with me now," he grinned at her.

"We'll see how long it takes until you've had enough of us," she replied and looked down to her top. "Maria still around?" she asked him.

"No, long gone," he shook his head and kissed her softly. "I promised Michelle she could come the next time," he told her then.

"Next time? You're planning on making this a regular thing?" she asked.

"Not regular, just…come here more often. If you want…"

"Of course I want," she nodded and was rewarded with another kiss. "Jack?" she said when he kissed down her neck.

"Mmh?"

"As much as I like what you're doing, it's just way too hot and you lying on top of me is not really comfortable at the moment," she complained.

"What about my payment for the massage?" he asked and looked up.

"How about you lie down and I give you a massage? Your shoulders are turning red already so some sun-block wouldn't hurt," she said and stroked with her hands over his shoulders.

"Deal," he nodded and got off her and then lay down when she got off the chair. She put her top back on before she grabbed the lotion and enjoyed the feeling of his muscles under her fingers.

~*

"You're ok with going to the fish restaurant I told you about? I made reservations but we don't have to keep them," he said while he shaved in front of the bathroom mirror; she was outside in the bedroom getting dressed.

"Sure, you know I like fish and sea fruits," she replied.

"Did you call Michelle?" he asked, knowing that she had planned on calling her while he was in the shower.

"Yes, I did. Everything's ok," she replied as she stepped into the bathroom now dressed in a black skirt, which had some frills that were playing around her knees, and a red summer blouse. "We said we'd meet for lunch on Monday at the diner, 'cause I assume we'll spend tomorrow night at your place," she went on and took the blow-dryer from the shelf since her hair was still wet. "Can you move a bit?" she requested when she couldn't see herself in the mirror.

"Why do you need a mirror to blow dry your hair? And why don't you just let it dry out in the sun. I'd really like to see it curly for once," he complained but stepped to the side.

"And I'd like you to get a haircut, which I've told you several time already. Life sucks," she shrugged and turned on the blow-dryer before he could say another word. He finished shaving and cleaned the razor before he applied some after-shave and put on his jeans and shirt. When she still wasn't done by the time he was dressed, he left the bathroom shaking his head and switched on the TV in the bedroom.

"You know a bit more and your hair might have been so dry it would have burst into flames," he called out when she finally switched off the device.

"Shut it," she called back.

"You're done? Can we go?" he asked back and looked impatiently to his watch. Their reservations weren't for another hour, but he was hungry and it was always fun unnerving her. He found her hilarious when she was unnerved or panicked about something.

"No, I still have to apply make-up and paint my nails. The pool water totally ruined my nail polish," she answered.

"Nail polish? Oh man…You have an appointment at the local spa after that? Maybe some Pilates class? Plastic surgery?" he went on, hoping to push her over the edge.

"You know," she started when she positioned herself in the doorway to the bedroom, hands on her hips, "sometimes you really make me want to kick your ass," she told him.

"Oh, so another point on your to do list before we can leave. I'm gonna starve," he continued teasingly.

"Not If I kill you first, Hodgins," she said darkly and went back into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. She couldn't hear him chuckle to himself.

~*~

"Jack is that really you?" a blonde woman asked when they stepped out of the restaurant later that night and turned right to take a stroll on the boardwalk.

"Sue, hey," he smiled when he saw her and greeted her by kissing her on both cheeks.

"How long has it been? Six years? Seven?" she asked him while they both looked closely at each other. "You're looking good. The beard's gone," she smiled and squeezed his upper arm.

"You, too," he replied and stepped back from her and placed a hand on Cam's lower back. "Cam meet Sue Leod, we went to school together. Sue this is Dr. Camille Saroyan," he introduced them. They shook hands before Sue addressed Hodgins again.

"You got that half right Jack. My last name changed. I'm now a Connelly," she informed him and held up her hand to show him her wedding band.

"As in Brendan Connelly?" he asked her wide-eyed.

"The very one," she nodded.

"Ah man, I can't believe you married Shorty," he laughed out loud.

"Watch it, Jack," she grinned back at him. "How long are you staying?" she asked him then.

"We're leaving tomorrow morning. We both have to work on Monday," he said and took Cam's hand in his.

"Still working with bugs and soil samples?" she wanted to know.

"Yup, that hasn't changed. I'm working at the Jeffersonian Institute now and most of the time we're helping the FBI solve murders," he explained.

"Bugs, soil and dead bodies? How do you deal with his job? It would creep me out," Sue asked Cam and scrunched up her face.

"I'm a coroner, so I'm kind of used to it," Cam laughed it off.

"Is Shorty here as well?" he asked her and tried to get the talk away from their jobs. It was the last thing he wanted to talk about on his weekend away.

"No, he's in Taiwan for business. I always come here when he's gone and then we meet again in New York when he comes back," she replied.

"Tell him to call me when he's back, we should all go out for drinks or something. It was nice seeing ya Sue," he said making it clear that they would prefer to be alone for the rest of their walk.

"Bye Jack," she replied and kissed his cheek, waved at Cam and then walked away to a sports car that was parked on the other side of the road.

"When were you two together?" Cam asked with a knowing smile once they continued on their walk.

"We weren't together," he shook his head.

"Ok, then when were you two sleeping together?" she went on, her smile getting wider.

"We went to school together," he avoided answering her question.

"Uh huh… one night stand or fling?"

"Why do you think we slept together?" he asked her and turned his head to look at her.

"Because she's calling you Jack," Cam replied.

"So? That's my name," he shrugged too innocently.

"Only the women you've slept with call you Jack. The rest call you "Hodgins"," Cam smiled amused.

"You're still calling me Hodgins," he protested.

"Yes, at work, where we pretend that we're not sleeping together. In private I mostly call you Jack. Except for when I'm mad at you," she pointed out.

"After Clarissa left me for my best friend, Sue and I… met sometimes," he answered her question finally.

"I knew it," she laughed and pointed with one finger at him.

"Crazy woman. I really don't get why that is amusing," he shook his head, let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulders to pull her closer. "Why aren't you jealous?" he asked her and sounded somewhat offended.

"Why? Do I need to be?" she asked him and finally stopped laughing.

"No, you don't need to be jealous, I just know I'd be if we met one of your former lovers," he admitted.

"But that's stupid. Ex- girlfriends, women you were in love with… Sure, I might be jealous. But one night stands and flings? Nah," she shook her head.

"So if we had met Clarissa here instead of Sue you would have been jealous?" he wanted to know.

"Maybe. If she had greeted you the way Sue did, with the same kind of smile, most likely," she replied and moved closer to him, the cold wind from the sea giving her goose bumps.

"But why? I don't get it," he wondered.

"You really don't understand?" she asked him disbelievingly but with a smile.

"Total blank here," he smiled back and shook his head.

"Because a fling is just something sexual without a real connection or real feelings. You don't love that person and therefore the risk that you'll go back while you're in a relationship or another fling isn't as likely. But with a real ex one has to compete," she told him.

"Compete?"

"Yes, because there might still be feelings there and then you have to be better than the 'other woman'," Cam said like it was the most logical thing in the world.

"That's so… women! That makes absolutely no sense," he laughed amused.

"Why not?" she shrieked and laughed as well.

"Because if you loved someone and then it ends you're most likely broken hearted and may have lost trust in the person, depending on how it ended. But if you're just having a fling and ended it without any hard feelings then it's more likely you'll pick up where you left off when you have the opportunity to," he reasoned with her.

"So it's more likely that you will go and chase after Sue once I'm asleep than you would go after… let's say Angela, for lack of a better example?" Cam asked him curiously.

"Absolutely," he nodded, trying to make a point, but then his eyes widened. "Which doesn't mean that I'll do that," he added quickly and she chuckled.

"Mmh, maybe I should go home alone and let you follow her," she said and pretended to be mad. The teasing glint in her eyes gave her away though.

"Why do we even talk about this? I won't cheat on you and you won't cheat on me, so we're good," he decided.

"One never knows that," Cam disagreed and sounded serious this time.

"Michelle's father cheated on you," he remembered.

"He did. He said he loved me, he asked me to marry him, we lived together and still… it wasn't enough, none of it. We were happy most of the time and to this day I can't understand what he was missing in the relationship. Whenever I asked him he couldn't tell me. And then he'd cheat again," she said.

"Why did you stay with him?" he asked.

"I loved him and hoped that he'd change and keep his promises the next time. And I loved Michelle and couldn't stand the thought of losing her," she replied truthfully. "Should we turn around? It's getting cold." she asked and he nodded. They changed directions and walked back slowly to the car.

"Wouldn't it have been possible for you to keep seeing Michelle?" he asked picking up their topic again.

"Maybe. But it wouldn't have been fair to her or any new woman that would have come. I couldn't know back then that he would never really find someone again after me. Only flings and affairs. If I'd known I would have kept contact with her at least," she admitted.

"Not with him?"

"I can't live with someone cheating on me. Brennan might disagree, but I can't rationalize it. If you love someone you're faithful and if you're missing something in the relationship you talk about it. And then either you fix it or you separate. But being cheated on is not something I can live with," she explained.

"I agree. Cheating isn't something I can forgive," he nodded.

"Forgive maybe, but forget? Never. And then it eats you alive and hurts and…I don't want to go through that again," she shook her head sadly, obviously remembering the end of the relationship with Andrew Welton.

"Glad we agree," he said softly and kissed her temple, leading her in direction of the car. When they passed a small bar Cam stopped him though.

"How about one last drink before we go back? It's our last night out and God knows when we'll find the time to go on another date," she proposed.

"Sure," he nodded and smiled happily, glad that she didn't want this night to end either. "You wanna go inside? Might be warmer," he asked, knowing she was still cold.

"If you don't mind," she grinned sheepishly.

"Of course not," he shook his head and led her inside. All the tables were taken, so they leaned against a pillar of the bar and ordered their drinks.

"Last time I was here there wasn't a dance-floor in here," he observed when he saw several couples swaying to the slow music.

"You're scared I'll make you dance with me," she snickered.

"No, actually I'd like that. I'm not the best dancer though, I have to warn you," he grinned and held out his hand for her.

"Neither am I. And are you really asking me for a dance?" she smiled surprised.

"Sure. I just hope the next song will be just as slow so I can feel you up," he winked and led her to the dance-floor.

"I don't know anyone here, so I'd only be slightly embarrassed," she grinned and slung her arms around his neck and let him pull her close. Just then the song ended and another one started. "Huh, I don't know that one but it sounds slow," she said when she heard the beginning.

"Really? It's funny that they're playing this now. I used to play this song repeatedly when we first got together; In a slightly faster version, but the same song. It reminded me of you," he admitted quietly and prompted her to listen to the lyrics.

_Baby, It's been a long day, baby._

_Things ain't going my way_

_You know I need you here_

_Here by my side_

_All of the time_

_And Baby, the way you move me it's crazy._

_It's like, you see right through me, you make it easier,_

_You please me and you don't even have to try._

_Oh because,_

_You are the best thing_

_You are the best thing_

_You are the best thing_

_Ever happened to me_

_Baby,_

_We've come a long way, baby._

_You know, I hope and I pray that you believe me_

_When I say this love will never fade away_

_Now both of us have known love before,_

_To come on up promising, like the spring, just walk on out the door._

_Our hearts are strong and are hearts are kind._

_Well, let me tell you just exactly what is on my mind._1

"That is _so_ incredibly cheesy," she laughed against his shoulder. He pulled back slightly and looked at her.

"Are you mocking me?" he asked her with a smile.

"No I'm not," she laughed. "It's cheesy… and really sweet," she added.

"I'm a sweet guy," he shrugged in fake modesty, but couldn't contain his proud grin.

"You really are," she agreed and pulled him to her, kissing him lovingly. "Let's get our drinks and then go back to the house. I changed my mind, I wanna be alone with you," she said while looking him in the eyes when the kiss ended. He was more than ok with that.

~*~

Cam was freaking out. Only a day back in D.C. and one lunch with Michelle later and all the relaxation from their weekend away was gone. The case that had come in just as she had left was now the last thing on her mind, thoughts about Michelle and what she had witnessed consuming her. She needed advice, analytical and objective advice on teens. Why had she agreed to become a legal guardian of one again, she wondered while she hurried up to the platform, looking for one detached anthropologist who would answer her question without asking any in return. However she only found Angela, Clark and Hodgins on there, no sign of Brennan.

"Where's Dr. Brennan?" she asked them without much of a preamble.

"Doing an isotope analysis. Seems the victim might be from another country," Hodgins replied without looking up, too engrossed in the plant samples the techs had brought in.

"That makes sense. His cavities suggest that his drinking water wasn't fluoridated," Clark nodded while looking at the teeth of the victim. Angela was still staring at clothing scraps and none of them noticed her nervous, taping foot or how she was wringing her hands.

"When do teenagers start having sex?" she blurted out when she couldn't keep it in anymore. She needed perspective and answers. However the second the question had left her mouth she knew these three were the wrong ones to address.

"Hello," Angela said surprised and looked up from the bag she had been staring at.

"If they could they'd start in the morning and go until they drop," Hodgins provided amused and unimpressed without looking at her. The half-smile on his face told her that he was enjoying this.

"Please tell me this is about the case," Clark groaned, still trying to avoid any personal conversation.

"This is about Michelle, isn't it? Is she having sex?" Angela asked sympathetically and seemed to be the only one understanding what this was about. Cam knew that Hodgins knew as well, but he was just having fun on her account, obviously thinking that this was something she was freaking out about unnecessarily.

"Working here is like being on _The View_," Clark muttered darkly and Hodgins only grinned.

"I meant what age," Cam clarified and decided she would just talk to Angela and ignore the other two.

"Dr. Saroyan, uhm, can I be excused to attend to something more case related?" Clark interrupted their girl talk, because he didn't want to witness it. That's when she remembered what Brennan had told her before lunch.

"Oh, Dr. Brennan already requested that you suit up to supervise the FBI techs retrieval of the remains at the train tracks," she told him.

"Wait, Dr. Brennan wants me to put on a jump suit and walk along a railroad track?" he asked and Cam nodded. " Mhmh, that is a not a good look on a brother," he shook his head, obviously refusing the orders of both of his bosses. Before Cam could order him to do as Brennan had told Angela took matters into her own hands.

"I bet you were an early starter, weren't you, Clark? A prodigy maybe?" she asked and walked towards him, an alluring smile on her face. Cam had to laugh when she saw how he walked backwards, trying to stop Angela from invading his personal space.

"Uhm, in case you haven't heard Miss Montenegro, I have work to do, so excuse me," he said and crashed into the table behind him, making Cam and Hodgins exchange an amused look.

"Yeah, " Angela just grinned and watched him walk off. Cam sighed when he was gone, knowing that her attempt to get some help had officially failed now. Jack was once again enthralled in his samples and Angela didn't have her libido under control so it wouldn't be too wise to remind her of sex again. Slowly and with her head hanging she walked off to her office, still not wiser than when she had come in earlier.

~*~

She was pacing her office from her desk to the autopsy table, on to the sink, turning at the couch and then back to her desk. She couldn't concentrate, hadn't even read one of the reports or info files yet. She couldn't get the picture of Michelle and Perry kissing out of her head; Kissing passionately in the car. She was already beating herself up for going away for the weekend. Maybe if she had stayed they would still be at stage two, only kissing innocently and holding hands.

"You'll make the floor give in if you keep pacing like that. I can already see the indentations," Hodgins said suddenly. She hadn't heard him coming in, was too deep in thought. She didn't reply but just raised an eyebrow in disapproval.

"Ok, before you kill me or go into one of your freak out rants: I come in peace," he told her and held up his hands, holding a bag in his left.

"What's that?" she asked and pointed to the bag that was still dangling beside his head.

"This is all I'm going to say to that topic until you ask me directly," he said and handed her the grey bag.

"You will only tell me stuff I don't want to hear," she muttered and opened the bag.

"Exactly, that's why I will stay as far away from commenting directly on that topic as I can right now," he nodded. She took out a book and read the title.

"How to talk to your teenager about sex," she said aloud and sighed.

"Talk to her before you freak out," he shrugged. Slowly she placed the book on her desk before she came over to him.

"Thank you," she smiled at him.

"You're welcome. Don't want you to have a heart attack or break a leg when you crash through to the basement when your floor gives in," he grinned.

"Idiot," she shook her head and swatted his arm.

"Easy come, easy go," he grinned and pecked her lips. "I'll go before another round of your freak-out sets in and I'll be the easy target. Read the book, maybe it'll help," he shrugged and left her office, chuckling quietly when she hurried over to her desk and started reading as soon as he turned around.

~*~

After she had read parts of the book she was still worried but slightly less panicked. She had been able to concentrate on her work again and decided that she should check on her team in the afternoon. She stopped at Angela's office first and the artist showed her what she had found out about the train tracks so far. She was just about to leave for Hodgins' office when Angela stopped her.

"Hey, what's going on with Michelle?" she asked and Cam turned back around. She hesitated for a moment, not really sure if she should just put it all out there.

"Michelle has this boyfriend, Perry," she started, deciding that Angela would probably be the only one who would provide some advice. Sure, she could talk to Hodgins, but just as he said he would most likely tell her things she didn't want to hear and freak her out even more.

"Oh, I met him. He's a hotty," Angela nodded.

"Who's a hotty?" Hodgins asked and stepped into the room, holding some folders in his hands.

"Perry, Michelle's boyfriend," Angela clarified for him.

"Sure, if you like athletic, confident, young…" Hodgins grinned at Cam.

"Studly," Angela added and Cam scrunched up her face, feeling a new wave of panic rising in her chest.

"Ok, let's not say studly, please," she requested and then turned to Hodgins. "Do you have something for me?"

"Yeah, that wine on the bones it's cudzoo. It's growth rate suggest the body parts have been undisturbed for approximately two months," he reported.

"So the victim must have died shortly after the last time he spoke to his parents," Cam nodded.

"Perry's a senior, isn't he? That might be why he is pressuring Michelle to have sex," Hodgins went back to the original topic. He knew he had said he would stay out of it, but he had thought about it as well. He knew Michelle and he liked her, so of course he had something to say. Cam squeezed the bridge of her nose, looked down and shook her head. This was not what she wanted to hear. She wanted reassurance that nothing was going on between Michelle and Perry, nothing else.

"Why do you think he's pressuring her? Women want sex just as much as men," Angela added and made Cam even queasier. Why had she thought talking about it with Angela would be a good idea?

"Oooh, she's still a child. She still has stuffed animals," she shook her head in denial.

"I did too at sixteen and I also had Brian. All you can do is tell her to respect herself and use protection," Angela provided and Cam nodded. That last sentence sounded good. She could do that.

"During the crusades knights used to lock up their wives and daughters," Hodgins mentioned with a smile, knowing she was freaking out again.

"How helpful. Anything else Hodgins and let's try something case related this time," Cam told him, refusing to go down that road. He only grinned at her and then told them about the other results he had. They were helpful for Angela because it meant that she could limit her search to tracks with coal cars only.

"Hey listen Cam. Every teenager goes through this. Think about what you went through," Angela said when they were done and wanted to provide some last advice. Cam first nodded before her eyes widened in shock.

"Me? Oh God!" she exclaimed and hurried off. "What am I gonna do?" she muttered as she left the office. Angela and Hodgins only laughed, shaking their heads.

"I better go and keep her from really locking up Michelle," he said still laughing and went after Cam, leaving Angela alone. When he reached Cam's office she held the phone in hand and was dialing a number he knew only too well. Without thinking too much about it he took the speaker out of her hands and placed it back on the gavel.

"No," he shook his head when she looked up at him and reached for the phone again.

"But," she protested and he stopped her again.

"Take a deep breath, think, then tell me what's going on," he requested and decided that for now he had had enough fun with this and wanted to know what was really going on. He had hoped that he could wait until they were home alone, but this was getting worse by the minute. He sat down on the edge of her desk and waited until she had collected and sorted her thoughts.

"I saw Michelle and Perry kissing in his car today, after our lunch. They made it to the next stage. She even asked me if she could stay out all night with him after the formal" she said, her eyes still wide with worry.

"You saw them kissing and now you're freaking out?" he asked, not really getting it.

"It wasn't just a kiss. It was… a kiss. A passionate, tongue and all… kiss," she explained, gesticulated wildly with her hands.

"That doesn't mean they're having sex. They could be just making out," he shrugged.

"Not helping here," she rolled her eyes. "If they're making out it's only a small step to having sex. We made it from the first kiss to making out to sex all in one night," she replied.

"We are adults and both quite experienced, if I'm allowed to say so. We both knew what we wanted that night and we both knew what to expect. Neither of us was a virgin or scared, so don't compare it. The first time is always a big deal," he disagreed.

"As long as you're not drunk with a crush on the biggest jock in high school who takes advantage of it," Cam muttered.

"Oh that's what you were referring to," he grinned. "They're in a relationship, babe. Perry's a good guy and he likes Michelle and she likes him. I don't mean to worry you, but it's only a matter of time until it'll happen. She's sixteen, he's older… If they stay together it will happen," he said and she closed her eyes in resignation. "But talk to her. Tell her to use protection, ask her if she has questions... I don't know… you're the woman here. Talks with guys are different," he shrugged.

"You're right," she nodded and opened her eyes again. "Would you mind if I spent the night alone at my place today to see if I can talk to her?" she asked then.

"I guess that's a legitimate reason," he sighed, bent over and kissed her softly. "I'll miss you though."

"I'll miss you, too. I'll call you tonight?" she asked.

"I'll be waiting," he nodded, kissed her again and left her office.

~*~

"Hi babe," he said with a smile when he picked up the phone later that night. He was already lying in bed, but watching TV and waiting for her call.

"Sorry it got so late. I was wondering if I should really call," she said and sat down on her on bed, dressed in her pajamas already.

"I would have taken it personally if you didn't call," he replied and muted the TV. "How did the talk with Michelle go?" he asked then.

"I didn't talk to her. She was out with her friends and came home around ten. Then she took a shower, so I waited once more and when I thought I could talk to her I found her asleep in her bed," Cam reported.

"So we spent the night apart for nothing?" he sighed.

"I'm afraid so," she agreed. "You can still come over if you want," she added then.

"You're serious?" he asked surprised.

"It's ten past eleven, so by the time you get here it'll be approximately a quarter to twelve, but still… I might still be up," she smiled and had to yawn a second later which made him laugh.

"Ok, hang in there, I'm on my way," he grinned and hung up before she could say another word. He knew it was ridiculous that he would drive to the other side of town now, but not doing it wasn't even an option. He wasn't sleeping too well when she wasn't next to him and he knew it was the same for her. He looked down to his grey sweatpants and blue T-shirt and decided it would have to do for the drive. He still had clothes at her place, so he didn't have to bother bringing some more for work the next day. He quickly brushed his teeth again before he hopped into the car and drove to her apartment. She had been right and by the time he arrived it was already twenty minutes to twelve. He used his key and let himself in, knowing he'd wake Michelle if he knocked or rang the bell. The lights were turned off in the whole apartment. Only a shimmer from her bedroom fell into the hallway because the door was ajar.

He took off his shoes and jacket and tiptoed over. He couldn't keep himself from chuckling when he opened her door and found her sprawled out on top of the covers, phone still in her left hand, fast asleep. He switched off the TV and carefully took the phone out of her hand and placed it on her nightstand. It was difficult adjusting the covers over her, but he managed and slid in on his side of the bed before he switched off the lights.

"Jack?" he heard her mutter sleepily in the dark as she shifted closer to him.

"I'm here, baby, go back to sleep," he whispered back and pulled her against him, so her head rested on his shoulder.

"Mmmh…. Michelle," she muttered and threw an arm over his middle, cuddling him like a teddy bear.

"She's asleep as well," he told her, grinning again.

"No sex," she mumbled and he wasn't sure if she was trying to talk to him while actually being semi conscious or if she was talking in her sleep.

"No, tonight she surely won't have sex," he shook his head and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Ok," she replied and he felt her relax against him and knew that she was really asleep now.

~*~

"Hey, what are you doing here? Didn't you want to try to talk to Michelle again tonight?" Hodgins asked Cam the next evening when he found her in his hallway. He had heard the keys in the door-lock from the kitchen and had come out to check who was there.

"After our talk this afternoon she is staying at Paris' place tonight. She left a message on the answering machine," she said, placed her bag on a chair and kicked off her heels.

"I'm making some salad and garlic bread. You're hungry?" he asked her and held out one arm for her, which he wrapped around her shoulders when she stepped right into it.

"Sounds good," she nodded. With her left hand she reached up and laced her fingers through his on her shoulder. She plopped down on a stool at the kitchen counter while he turned the bread in the pan.

"You haven't told me yet what happened this afternoon. You just said she stopped by and you fought," he said while he cut more bread into slices.

"She came by and took me by surprise. She asked me about the formal again and if I had thought about her plans with Perry and staying out all night. I kind of snapped and asked her if she was having sex," she said and shook her head about herself.

"Just like that? Duuuude," he grinned.

"Stop with that dude crap," she replied annoyed. "I babbled about something and told her that God would smite her," she went on and looked even more annoyed when he laughed out loud this time. "She told me I was only her legal guardian and should stop pretending that there was anything more. My only job was keeping her out of foster care. I told her I love her and don't want to see her get hurt but she wouldn't listen," she reported what had happened and while she spoke he stopped laughing and a sympathetic expression took over.

"You know she didn't mean that," he told her and took the bread out of the pan and placed the new slices in it, adding some more olive oil and garlic.

"What if she did? I really messed that one up, Jack," she admitted sadly.

"I can't change anything about the thing with Michelle, but I can offer some comfort. You want a hug?" he asked her and turned around in front of the stove to face her.

"Sounds good," she nodded, got up and walked into his open arms. He held her tightly and rubbed soothingly over her back, while keeping an eye on the bread.

"You'll talk to her again when you both will have calmed down and everything will be alright," he said and kissed her cheek.

"Sorry, I'm dumping all of this on you again," she apologized and nuzzled her nose against his neck, breathing him in, knowing the familiar scent of his skin would calm her.

"Shush, you know I don't mind," he quieted her and held her for a few more moments, enjoying the closeness just as much as she did.

"This scene is a repeat. It's like we're stuck in a time circle. You holding me when I'm down," she mumbled into his neck.

"Don't think I'm selfless. If I could I would do this all day," he chuckled and then stepped back. "But then our dinner would burn. You're getting the plates?" he asked her.

"Sure," she nodded and walked over to the cupboard and took the plates out and set them down on the counter before she got cutlery for the both of them.

"I thought about calling you just when you came in," he said while she put salad on their plates and he put the bread in the bread-basket.

"Just because or for a particular reason?" she wanted to know.

"I don't like eating alone and thought I could smack a bit for you over the phone," he grinned sheepishly.

"You really don't appreciate the silence when we're not here, huh?" she laughed.

"Not at all. I've been alone in this house for way too long," he grinned and sat down beside her so they could start their dinner.

~*~

The next day around five in the evening Cam sought out Hodgins again. They had seen each other several times during the day, had spent lunch with the rest of the team eating Chinese food up in the lab.

"Hey Hodgins, you forgot to sign your report," she told him when she stepped into his lab.

"Really? Sorry," he apologized and signed the sheet of paper she held out to him. "Did I sign the others?" he asked confused, wondering why he hadn't signed that particular one.

"Yes, you did. Are the new bugs distracting you?" she grinned.

"Not new bugs, something much better," he said excitedly, took her hand and led her to a terrarium at the end of the room.

"What is this? I can't see anything," she asked and leaned in closer.

"Look over there," he said and when he pointed it out she saw the hairy legs sticking out underneath a rock.

"Oh my God," she yelped and jumped back, putting a hand on her chest.

"What? It's a new species of tarantulas that's been found. And this one's still a baby," he shrugged, not understanding her reaction.

"When did I sign anything that said you're allowed to have spiders in here?" she asked him and took another step backwards, away from the spider.

"Few weeks ago. You signed it together with the new maggots and the flies," he told her and wrinkled his forehead.

"Ok; I'm gonna go," she shook her head and eyed the terrarium suspiciously.

"Why?"

"Because that's disgusting and I won't set another foot into this lab until this … spider is gone," she said and pointed to the spider.

"You're arachno-phobic," he chuckled and couldn't believe it.

"I'm not anything- phobic. It's just their little legs and the creepy faces that freak me out," she told him.

"Ok, the spider will go," he laughed and followed her out of his lab.

"I also wanted to ask you if you're coming to the diner with me. Before I saw your hairy friend I was craving some pie," she told him while they walked to her office.

"Comfort food?" he grinned knowingly.

"Yes. Now I need to get over the shock first before I can eat again," she admitted and washed her hands when she reached the sink in her office.

"Sorry, but I still have to wrap up two more reports on the fibers and also need to get rid of my "hairy friend" again," he excused himself.

"Ok, then I'll go alone. I'm done for today. Will you come over when you're done or will we meet at my place?" she asked him and dried her hands with a paper towel.

"I'll stop by the diner, I won't take too long," he said after thinking about it for a second.

"Alright, then see you there," she nodded, grabbed her bag and her keys and walked out of her office.

~*~

Half an hour later she was still sitting alone in the diner, her pie half eaten, her coffee cold and deep in thought. She couldn't get her last talk with Michelle out of her head and she wished she had started differently and said something else. She thought about her own talk with her mother when she had been young and although it had come when it had already been too late, her mother had been understanding and had somehow known what to say to make her feel better. She needed to apologize to Michelle, she knew. Who was she to talk about "God will smite you", it wasn't like she had ever had sex within wedlock. She had had her fair share of one night stands, affairs and flings and most of them she hadn't regretted. Sure, it was a totally different experience to make love to someone, but one wasn't always that lucky. She picked up the coffee cup and sipped, having no problem with the liquid being cold. She was surprised when out of the corner of her eye she saw Michelle entering the diner, still carrying her school backpack with her, which meant she hadn't been home yet.

"I didn't mean what I said. I know you care," Michelle said immediately when she turned around to her and Cam felt a bit relieved. At least she knew that she loved her.

"Oh, it's ok. I… I handled things badly I guess," she replied, feeling the need to admit that she had screwed up as well.

"Can I sit?" the teen asked and pointed to the stool next to her.

"I think so," she nodded and watched Michelle when she sat down and took off her backpack. "Look Michelle, I …," she tried to find the words to express what was on her mind without messing it up again. "This is all new to me too, so I 'm sorry if we got off on the wrong foot," she started with an apology.

"My dad always wanted me to be independent. To think for myself, you know?" Michelle nodded and seemed to accept it.

"And you talked to him about boys?" she asked, not really sure where Michelle was going with this.

"Are you kidding? How weird would that be?" Michelle laughed and Cam had to smile as well. "Did you talk to your dad about boys?" the teen wanted to know.

"Oh God no. My mom told him to go bowling, she knew he'd have a meltdown," she shook her head and laughed at the ridiculousness of the idea. "My dad still thinks I'm a …," she felt weird actually saying "virgin" so she gestured while searching for an alternative. "His little girl," she finished the sentence finally and Michelle nodded.

"I didn't know, never had a mom," she admitted and Cam decided that she needed to broach the subject again.

"So, you and Perry?" she asked, because she just needed an answer to that. She loved this girl and she could be understanding no matter what the answer would be. Hodgins was right, it would happen and it was better if Michelle knew she could talk to her rather than feel she had to hide anything.

"No," the teen admitted slightly embarrassed and Cam slowly breathed out in relief. "He wants to, but he's not pressuring me or anything," Michelle went on and Cam nodded understandingly, which seemed to be the right thing because Michelle added. "But I'm scared. Is that weird? I mean it's just sex right? It's all over the TV and everywhere," she said and at that moment Cam was really glad that they were talking. This statement showed that Michelle was still a child, no matter how grown up she already felt.

"Ooh, there's no such thing as just sex, Michelle," Cam disagreed vehemently. "Every time you give a bit of yourself to the person you're with. So... it's ok to wait. As long as you want," she explained and knew that there might be more questions about that statement in the future.

"But I don't wanna lose Perry," Michelle worried.

"If Perry doesn't understand how you feel, he doesn't deserve you," Cam told her. Michelle smiled a bit and nodded. She didn't seem as nervous anymore and that was a good thing.

"I wanted to talk to you, I really did. But I just didn't want you to be disappointed in me," She admitted then.

"Oh Michelle, that's what I was afraid of too," Cam agreed and they smiled at each other, glad that they had found common ground.

"Can I have some pie, too?" Michelle asked then and broke the silence.

"Sure, order whatever you want," Cam nodded and suddenly the rest of her pie looked more delicious than it had before.

"Mh, Dr. Hodgins told me to tell you that he'll be by 'in a minute'," Michelle said after the waitress had placed her slice of pie in front of her.

"When did you see Hodgins?" Cam asked surprised.

"I stopped by the lab first and he told me I'd find you here," Michelle replied and slurped on her milkshake.

"And why do you keep calling him Dr. Hodgins?" Cam laughed then when it occurred to her how absurd that was.

"I don't know. I knew him before you started dating and called him Dr. Hodgins then. He told me I could call him Jack or just Hodgins, but that's just weird. By calling him Dr. H. I have my own nickname for him," she shrugged.

"That doesn't make any sense," Cam just laughed but Michelle just shrugged again and grinned at her over the glass of her milkshake.

"By the way: Do people at the Institute know about you two now? I wasn't so sure before," Michelle asked.

"Yes, they know. Hodgins isn't the most discreet guy when it comes to stuff like this," she rolled her eyes and ate another piece of her pie.

"With 'stuff like this' you mean kissing and making out?! I know!" Michelle laughed.

"Is it weird for you seeing me with him 'like that'. Because it is really weird for me when I see you and Perry together," Cam asked her. Now that the topic was on the table she could ask what had been on her mind for a while now. "And I don't want you to be uncomfortable. If we stay at his place too often or he is too often at our place you have to tell me."

"It's weird sometimes and then again it's not. I was used to seeing you and dad together and now you're with Hodgins. But I don't mind. He makes you happy and I really like him. He's cool. Although I could go without seeing you two make out whenever you think I'm not watching," she grinned and Cam blushed.

"Who's making out?" Hodgins startled them both as he snuck up behind them.

"No one," Cam shook her head and leaned into him when he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.

"Aw, come one. Tell me! I wanna be in on the dirty secrets," he teased her and winked at Michelle.

"Eat some pie," Cam only told him and shoved the last piece of her pie in his mouth before he could protest. Michelle only laughed and shook her head at the two.

~*~

"Good evening, Miss. You're looking amused," Hodgins said when he greeted Cam the next evening in his house. He had left earlier than her that day, because Michelle had come in and had taken up some of her time.

"I am," she grinned and took off her shoes and the grey jacket she wore. Then she came over to where he leaned against the doorframe and kissed him hello.

"And about what?" he wanted to know and placed his hand on her hips, pulling her close.

"Michelle came by earlier," she started.

"I know, I saw her," he nodded and busied himself carefully pulling the pins out of her hair.

"Later Perry stopped by to pick her up for their movie date and while Michelle wanted my advice on her make- up and tried to push back her curfew, Perry met Booth," her grin widened.

"And that is amusing why?" he asked and pulled out the last pin which let her hair fall down from the chignon into the ponytail.

"Because Seeley scared the crap out of him. I don't know what he said but Perry looked _so_ freaked out and made sure he pointed out that they would only go for a movie and nothing else. Also: he found out that Seeley's a sniper," she laughed and let him pull out her hair-band and comb through her hair with his fingers.

"And you like that?" he wanted to know.

"Ooh yes. There's nothing like getting through to someone with intimidation," she laughed.

"I could have intimidated him," Hodgins replied and pouted slightly.

"With what? The new tarantula?" she laughed and stepped away from him. She took the pins out of his hand and went over to the stairway. "God, sometimes I really adore Seeley," she sighed laughingly and walked upstairs.

Hodgins remained leaning against the doorframe to the living room for a moment and watched her climb the stairs. Something about this thing didn't really sit right with him and his hand sought out the rubber band on his wrist, which he hadn't been wearing in a while. He didn't mind that she was gushing about Booth and his alpha male behavior, because he knew she liked that. Football, ice-hockey or anything else with strong males battling each other and Cam was reduced to a drooling and gushing girl. He wrinkled his forehead and thought about it, wondering what exactly was bothering him. He nodded once when he had found the reason and then followed her upstairs. He found her in the bedroom, her sweats and a pink shirt already laid out on the bed. She had just stepped out of her grey slacks and was putting them neatly over a hanger.

"Do you think this whole thing will be good trust wise?" he asked her and sat down on the bed.

"What do you mean?" she asked, the grin back on her face. She went into the bathroom and came out again a second later brushing her hair.

"You just got Michelle to open up yesterday and today Booth comes and threatens her boyfriend? If I were Perry I'd tell Michelle," he told her, his eyes following the brush combing through her hair.

"So? I'll tell her that I have nothing to do with it and we're good again," she shrugged unimpressed.

"Also, if I were Perry and I wanted to have sex with my girlfriend and she wanted it as well, I would do it anyway and just make sure he wouldn't find out," he added and slowly got up from the bed.

"What are you getting at?" she put down the brush on the nightstand and took the sweatpants from the bed.

"That if they're having sex she won't tell you, because you could let it slip to Booth," he clarified.

"Oh come on! Michelle and I had a very good talk yesterday. She knows now she can talk to me," Cam refused to believe him.

"And if I were me, which I actually am, I'd be pissed as well," he told her and took the sweatpants out of her hands and threw them back on the bed.

"And? Are you pissed, you being you?" she grinned and didn't back away when he came closer and closer. His chest was so close to hers that only a sheet of paper would have fit in between.

"Yes, I am," he nodded and took another step towards her, pushing her backwards with his body.

"Why?" she asked, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Because your friend _Seeley _overstepped his boundaries. Scaring the boyfriend of my girlfriend's daughter? My job," he said and pushed her back some more until her back hit the wall.

"But you didn't do it," she told him, her smile changing from amused to seductive.

"I am also pissed because you should have told him that it is my job. I am the lead male in your life now, not him," he pointed out and raised his eyebrows. He was still not touching her and when she reached out to place a hand on his cheek he moved his head away.

"Are you jealous of Booth again?" she asked him, her grin getting wider, even though there was a hint of worry in her eyes.

"No, not jealous. Annoyed. And not by him, by you," he replied.

"Huh," she just made and cocked her head to the side.

"You know if you want me to go all alpha-male on you, just say the word," he said, his jaw clenching when he looked at her.

"But you're a sweet and caring guy. How would you do that?" she asked him and licked her lips unconsciously. When she reached out again, this time with both hands, he caught them and pressed them against the wall above her head.

"I could slap you around a bit," he said with just the hint of a smirk, his eyes darkening dangerously. For a second she wasn't sure of it was danger or lust she saw. She wiggled her hands, but he just tightened his grip on her wrists.

"You're hurting me," she told him, her voice husky and slightly unsure. She tried to get out of his grip again, but it only made him tighten it more. She looked to his arms, the muscles stretching against the shirt. She knew he was built but she had never thought about the fact that he was strong as well. He could hurt someone if he wanted. She wouldn't stand a chance.

"Tell Booth to back off or I will do it," he whispered against her lips and attacked them ferociously a split second later. She gasped in surprise and her eyes widened. His tongue pushed into her mouth and she felt arousal shooting through her. When he plundered her mouth her eyes closed. She gave into his kiss, pushed her body off the wall and pressed into him as much as she could while he still held her hands above her head. He brought one hand down and cupped her cheek, angled her head with it the way he wanted, while he kissed her senseless. She tried to respond to his kiss with the same passion but he surprised her again and again by slightly biting her lip or teasing the roof of her mouth with his tongue. Finally she just gave in, slumped against him and surrendered to his kiss, hoping her knees wouldn't give in.

Suddenly her hands were free and he was gone. She stumbled forward, then back against the wall and opened her eyes. He had taken a step back and his eyes roamed her body. He was breathing just as hard as she was. Their eyes met and he stuck his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

"Get dressed, dinner in twenty minutes," he told her, turned on his heels and left the room without so much as a glance back. She looked down at herself and only then remembered that she was still only dressed in her black top and her underwear. She waited until she heard his steps on the stairs and then dared to move. Slowly she made her way to the bed and sat down. She looked at her wrists and stroked with her thumb over one of the red marks. They would fade in a minute and leave no bruises, but still. Her body was still throbbing and her lips felt swollen and slightly bruised.

"My God," she whispered and placed a hand on her chest. She took a deep breath and then burst out laughing, letting herself fall backwards on the bed. "Wow," she giggled and felt herself blush, her face suddenly feeling very hot. _Well, not only my face_, she thought and that sent her into another fit of giggles. She wouldn't say a word to Booth she decided. She couldn't wait to see that side of Hodgins again and she had to think of a way to take full advantage of it.

TBC

1


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks to Gianna for betaing! I hope by now everyone has found their way over from "Never a dull moment" to this story.**

**Dialogue borrowed from epi 5.4

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**Chapter 5: Explosives and explosions**

"Die," Hodgins muttered a few days later when he was awoken by the ringing phone. He knew it wasn't early, but it was Sunday and that was enough to make him grumpy.

"Crazy guy," Cam snickered and picked up the phone that was sitting on her night table. "Hello?" she asked sleepily and her smile got wider when Hodgins pulled the blanket over his head, muttering some chemical mumbo jumbo. They were all kinds of explosives, that much she was sure of.

"Hey Cam, it's me. We have a body in a Luau pit. We need you," Booth replied and made her sigh deeply.

"That body couldn't have waited until tomorrow when it's an actual work day?" she asked and sat up.

"Hey, at least it's already one in the afternoon," Booth said, not in the least bit apologetic.

"Give me half an hour. You need Hodgins as well?" she wanted to know.

"Nytroglycerin!" he said loudly from under the blanket and made her laugh.

"What was that?" Booth asked confused.

"Hodgins. He is obviously building a bomb. At least in his head," she grinned and pulled the blanket away from him. Stubbornly he hid his face in his pillow and then scooted over to her, slinging one arm over her middle.

"Hexanitrostilbene," came the next comment from him, this time lifting his head long enough to say it directly into the speaker of the phone.

"As long as you can laugh about it. Tell the nut job he has to come in as well, I'm sure there'll be some non- explosive stuff for him to analyze," Booth said and hung up when she replied with a laugh.

"He says you have to come in as well," she told him and stroked one hand over his too long hair.

" 1,3,5-Triazido-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene," he huffed and leaned into her touch.

"Come on," she said and combed with her fingers through his hair.

"Don't wanna," he muttered.

"Maybe next time you won't spend so much time trying to beat Michelle on Wii and go to bed earlier," she smiled.

"She cheated and it's Sunday. I refuse to go to work," he said.

"Ok, I don't have the time to discuss this with you. There's a guy roasting in a luau pit and I have to go. I'll call you when we need you," she replied and swung her legs out of bed.

"No-ho. You stay. Let him roast. Maybe he'll be done by the time you get to him," he protested and held her back with his arm that was slung around her waist.

"Jack," she said and looked disapprovingly at him.

"I know. Inappropriate," he muttered and took his arm away.

"And disgusting," she nodded and got up.

"Booth will so pay for this," he said while she got her clothes from the closet.

"He didn't throw the guy into the pit," she rolled her eyes at him and made her way into the bathroom before he could go on with his grumbling.

" 4,4'-Dinitro-3,3'-diazenofuroxan," he called after her just before she closed the door. With a sigh he snuggled back into his pillow, then pushed it away and pulled hers over from her side.

~*~

"Tell me you're coming back to bed," Hodgins said when he answered the phone two hours later, knowing it was Cam calling him on her home line.

"Tell me you're not still in bed," she shot back and he looked down at himself, contemplating if he should lie to her or tell the truth.

"Of course not," he tried and brushed some of the crumbs off the bed-sheets that were left from eating his breakfast in her bed while watching TV.

"We need you at the pit. Well, actually in the pit, once we remove the body," she told him and made him groan.

"Why is it always me?" he whined and placed the empty plate on the floor beside the bed.

"Because you're the bugs, slime AND dirt guy? Now get your ass out of bed," she told him.

"But I am not..." he tried but was interrupted.

"And you better not leave any crumbs in my bed, otherwise I'll kill you," she went on, knowing he had eaten breakfast in bed again, simply because she knew him and his habits.

"See you there?" he asked meekly.

"Probably not. I'm on my way back to the lab," she replied in the negative.

"Ok, then see you later," he said disappointedly and hung up. He looked down at the bedcovers and found more crumbs there. He knew he had to clean up before he left, because she wasn't joking when she said that she would kill him. She hated it when he ate in bed and still it was a habit he couldn't let go of. It was just too comfy sitting in bed, watching TV and eating breakfast when he had the time to. Sure, the spilled coffee and the crumbs on the bed sheet weren't that good, but it was something one could easily rectify. Now, however, he didn't really have the time to change the sheets and asking Michelle was out of the question. He hurried into the bathroom and got ready, skipping his shower to save time. After all he would spend the day outside in a luau pit dressed in a jump suit so there was no need to smell good. Instead he used the time he saved to at least change the sheets while he left the bedcovers on and hoped to avoid the wrath of Camille Saroyan.

~*~

Later, after he was down in the pit and done with the first tests he set up his equipment and established a video conference with the Jeffersonian. Cam and Arastoo were working on the remains and he had to fight the urge to wave at the camera or do something else to make her laugh.

"Found out what caused the mini explosions," he told them as he picked up some particulates and squinted at them.

"Would it have anything to do with the pebbles embedded in the remains?" Cam asked, knowing that the word pebbles would most likely rub him the wrong way.

"If by pebbles, you mean the rudaceous sedimentary stratified clast fragments, then yes," he corrected her immediately and was surprised when he looked up and found her grinning mischievously. "Now, based on the amount of pyrites, I'd estimate the porosity at approximately 25%. That's ideal for moisture saturation," he finished and tried his hardest to remain focused and not comment on her teasing.

"Meaning the pebbles exploded when they got hot," Arastoo summed up his findings, which Hodgins found both redundant and inaccurate.

"The pebbles, as you so quaintly call them, were all found on the same strata as the human remains. Most likely dragged from the murder site," he corrected him and went on.

"Which explains why they were embedded in the remains," Cam concluded, her focus back on the body and not on her boyfriend.

"Yeah. All consistent in size and color," Hodgins agreed.

"Decorative, perhaps?" Arastoo asked, giving Hodgins an idea. He looked over to where the giant windmill was standing in one of the front yards and saw the decorative pebbles.

"I'll call you back," he decided, then quickly ended the video conference and climbed out of the pit. Cam and Arastoo meanwhile kept working on the body and the other bones they had found in the pit, most of them pig bones. Arastoo's watch announced time for prayers and Cam got worried when he didn't hurry off to pray but kept working. She firmly believed in being open minded and tolerant when it came to his religion, although she had to admit that she had some problems with it. Mainly she just didn't know enough about Islam, other than what the media published and that didn't paint a good picture. Having Arastoo here proved to be difficult for her at times and she went back and forth between terrorist thoughts and being overly understanding and supportive. This day she actually made it to pushy when she kept insisting that he should go pray and stop working with pig bones. So much that Arastoo, for the first time, became angry.

"I'm a scientist, okay? Just like the rest of you. I can deal. So please just back off and let me do my job like anyone else," he said agitated and Cam couldn't believe her ears when he said it without an accent.

"Wow," was all she could say while she stared at him wide-eyed.

"I apologize for my outburst," he said with an accent heavier than ever before.

"Oh, you aren't even gonna try to un-ring that bell, are you?" she dead-panned, still not able to wrap her mind around the fact that he was obviously faking his accent.

"I have to pray," he excused himself and fled from the situation. She stared after him, her mind already going crazy with possibilities and ideas about what was going on. However, she was interrupted by her ringing phone. Without checking who was calling she answered.

"Saroyan."

"I found the rudaceous sedimentary stratified clast fragment mother lode," Hodgins said on the other end and she tried to snap out of her daze.

"Uh, yeah, any signs of a struggle in the pebbles?" she asked, her voice detached and distracted.

"No..." he said and started to distort the stones with his hands, digging deeper. "Um, I call do-over. They're covered in blood. Lots of blood," he said, finding more and more blood the deeper he dug.

"Uh, ok," Cam replied, still not able to really communicate. Why was Arastoo faking his accent? It didn't make any sense to her.

"You're ok babe?" Hodgins asked after a moment of silence.

"Yeah, I'm, uhm... just fine," she stuttered and mentally slapped herself for it. "I have to get back to work," she excused herself and hung up before he could question her further. Hodgins only wrinkled his forehead.

~*~

For the rest of the afternoon Cam couldn't get the accent slip out of her head. She knew the easiest way to find out what was going on would be to just confront the intern and ask him about it. However as bossy and intimidating as she could be, she wasn't comfortable with having heart to hearts with her employees. He was Dr. Brennan's intern after all and Cam decided that maybe she should ask her first if she knew what was going on. Maybe there was a logical explanation for it and she just hadn't found it yet. So when she talked to her on the phone later that day she decided to ask, knowing that she wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything else, as long as that riddle remained unsolved.

"Were you guys aware that Arastoo doesn't really have an accent?" she asked, addressing both Dr. Brennan and Booth, who was riding in the car with her.

"Yeah, he does. Yeah, it's thicker than Ahmed the rug merchant. Was that racist? It sounded racist?" Booth replied immediately and as politically incorrect as her own thoughts had been.

"I knew that despite the fact that Arastoo said he was Iranian, his accent was Jordanian," Brennan replied not really shocked or impressed by the detail. Cam on the other hand stopped walking through the lab and came to an abrupt halt on the platform upon hearing that.

"Don't you find it odd that he was faking an Arab accent of any kind?" she asked warily, not really sure what answer would await her.

"Iranian isn't actually Arab," Brennan corrected instead of answering her question.

"What? It… Bones, it's weird!" Booth said and Cam was grateful that he was with her on this.

"Now how is it any more odd than, say, shaving your face or putting on makeup?" the anthropologist asked and was able to deliver an answer that left even Cam momentarily speechless.

"I'm not hanging up because I don't have an answer to that, I'm just hanging up," Cam said once she found her voice again and shook her head, pressing the button on her phone. She looked around to see if she could find Hodgins somewhere, but he wasn't in sight. And maybe it was better to not alert him and his crazy conspiracy fantasies. She had barely got over the spy fantasies from the case before. So with a sigh she went back to the bone room where Arastoo was working now and decided to contact Sweets first before she would confront Arastoo.

~*~

"Michelle home yet?" Hodgins asked when he entered the bedroom from the en suite bathroom later that evening.

"No, she called and said she'd stay at her friend's place," Cam replied and watched how he rubbed his hair with a towel. "Did you leave me any hot water or do I have to take a cold shower?" she asked him then.

"You could have just showered with me. Now I guess you just have to see," he shrugged and threw the wet towel on the bed.

"Hodgins!" Cam exclaimed immediately as she grabbed the towel and threw it at him, hitting him in the face with it before he caught it.

"Hey!" he scoffed. "What?"

"I just put fresh covers on the bed and now you're ruining them again," she complained.

"I put my towel on the bed, that's hardly "ruining the covers"," he argued back and placed the towel over the back of the chair at her vanity table.

"A _wet_ towel. I don't wanna sleep in a wet bed," she shot back and opened her closet to get her pjs.

"You're totally exaggerating," he complained and sat down on the bed.

"I'm not. I'm just sick of you making a mess out of my place," she replied and slammed the closet door shut.

"And you're exaggerating again," he pointed out.

"How many times do I have to tell you that I hate it when you eat in bed? And still every time I turn my back you do it again. Last time there were coffee stains on my sheets, this time there was jam on the covers," she said, the volume of her voice rising with every word.

"I changed the covers! If there was any jam on it, it was from you not washing them thoroughly," he yelled back, unnerved from this stupid argument.

"You changed the sheet, not the covers. And don't you dare argue, because your bread crumbs were still sticking to them as well," she yelled back, pointing at him with one finger, her eyes sparkling dangerously. Before he could reply to that she marched off to the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind her. While she showered and got ready he lay on the bed wondering what was wrong with her lately. She had barely talked to him all day and when she did she seemed distracted or cranky. They hadn't seen much of each other at the lab and he wondered if anything had happened there that would explain her mood. Or was it a delayed reaction to their ruined Sunday? However, he remembered that she hadn't been in a good mood in the morning either. While he was contemplating he felt himself getting sleepier and sleepier. He was just barely awake when he heard the bathroom door click when she came out. The mattress moved slightly when she got into bed and he was surprised when she snuggled up against him, her warm body pressing against his side.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, not sure if he was already asleep.

"It's ok," he mumbled without opening his eyes and slung his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close.

~*~

The next morning when Hodgins was working on the particulates on the saw Cam came bursting into his lab without knocking, her bag slung over her shoulder, her jacket slung over her arm.

"Can you give me the car keys, please," she requested impatiently.

"Sure," he shrugged and dug through his jacket pockets. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"I have an appointment I nearly forgot about and then I have to talk to Sweets," she replied.

"What appointment? And why do you need to talk to Sweets? Something wrong?" he wanted to know, his eyebrows drawn together.

"No, nothing wrong. I'll explain later, have to hurry now." she said, took the keys from his hand and pecked him on the lips before she hurried out of his lab again. For the second time in two days she left him behind, wondering what was going on.

~*~

Sweets was just as surprised as Hodgins had been when Cam entered his office two hours later without knocking.

"No, no, no, no, you can't just walk in here…" he protested. She ignored him and sat down anyway.

"Arastoo Vaziri, our Muslim intern - he's been faking his accent. At first I go where everyone else goes, you know - terrorist," she started.

"Wouldn't a terrorist fake not having an accent?" he wondered.

"Is it crazy or just weird? Weird, I can deal with, but crazy... "she trailed off and stood up again, moving to leave.

" Wait. What do you want me to do?" he called out.

"Oh, crazy is your department," she said and was out the door the next second.

~*~

"Finally, there you are. I was wondering if I should start eating alone," Hodgins greeted her when she walked into his kitchen late in the evening.

"Sorry, I had to catch up on my paperwork, because of my trips this morning," she said and snatched some bread out of the basket he had placed on the counter.

"Michelle called you about bowling with Perry tonight?" he asked her and handed her a plate with pasta.

"She did. She said they'd grab dinner before," she replied, still chewing on the bread. When she swallowed a grin appeared on her face.

"You seem in a better mood now," he observed.

"I talked to Booth and Brennan earlier," she said amused.

"Another one of the famous phone calls where at one point they forget that they're not the only ones talking?" he asked.

"That as well, but she was also quite literal today," Cam grinned.

"About?"

"About Saltpeter and its effects," she let him know.

"The real effects or the effects people think it has?" he grinned knowingly.

"Both. Booth insisted that it had been in his milk at school and Brennan and I tried to convince him that it won't stop men from their... urges," she winked at him.

"I'm not sure if I am amused that you and Brennan ganged up on Booth when it came to that topic or if I'm disturbed that you're talking about his erections," Hodgins replied before eating the last of his pasta.

"We weren't talking about his erections specifically but more about the general old wives tale," she replied.

"Speaking of talking. You still have to tell me where you were this morning," he said and smiled teasingly, although he was serious. He really wanted to know where she had been.

"Oh, I have to? Wasn't aware of that," she grinned back at him and laughed when the smiled vanished from his face when she didn't answer him.

"Oh come on," he groaned frustrated. "I had to take one of the Jeffersonian's cars to get to the crime scene because you abducted my car. So yes, you owe me an explanation," he told her.

"It's incredible what a big deal you're making out of a simple doctor's appointment," she shook her head, got up and started clearing the table.

"I wouldn't make such a big deal out of it if you had just told me that you had one," he replied. "What was it about anyway?" he dug deeper, because his gut was telling him that there was more to it than she let on.

"Just a check up," she shrugged. They both knew that he knew her well enough to know that she wasn't telling the truth. "If it's just a checkup then why are you lying to me about it?" he said and took the bread basket out of her hands.

"Ok, fine, it wasn't just a checkup. There, happy now?" she got defensive.

"No, I'm not happy now, I'm worried. What's going on Camille? What are not telling me? Are you sick?" he asked and placed his hands on her shoulders to keep her from leaving the room.

"I'm fine," she insisted, again lying to him.

"Ok, good, you're fine. I'm not, because you're lying to me," he yelled frustrated and it was he who left the room. He needed some outlet for his frustration so he made his way downstairs to the basement and into the gym. He took off his shirt, but kept the T-shirt underneath on. Then he took the gloves from the shelf and put them on before he started hitting the punching bag. He was sick of this. While they were basically living together and happy most of the time, there were still moments when she tried to fool him or lie to him. Usually it was a result of her own insecurities, which she would never admit of course. Why couldn't she just tell him about her doctor's appointment and tell him what was going on? If she was sick he would look after her and if she had just a checkup he'd wait for the results with her. What was the big deal?

He didn't stop slamming his fists into the bag when he heard the door open twenty minutes later. Sweat was dripping off his forehead, but he still wasn't feeling better.

"Why don't you trust me?" he asked angrily and hit the bag again. He wasn't sure if he had just put the question out there or if he really wanted an answer.

"I trust you," she said coming up slowly behind him. "I just didn't want to worry you. I was worried enough myself," she admitted and placed a hand on his shoulder. He stopped punching the bag, but didn't turn around to her. Slowly he took off the gloves and threw them on the ground. "I'm sorry I handled things badly. I thought we could just leave it at me having an appointment," she said and walked around him so she could see his face.

"I don't want to control you but I want to know what's going on. My gut was telling me that this wasn't just an appointment," he replied and took the towel she offered him and wiped his face and neck with it.

"You're the one who's always telling me that Booth's or my gut isn't an exact science," she smiled unsure.

"Mine is when it comes to you," he replied, not yet willing to let her off the hook. She looked at him for a moment, realizing that it wouldn't get resolved until she told him what was really going on. She took his hand in hers and pulled him down so they were sitting on the ground facing each other on the wooden floor.

"I haven't been feeling too well lately," she admitted.

"I know," he nodded, remembering her headaches, tiredness and just overall 'not being well'.

"You remember when Epps poisoned me?" she asked him unnecessarily. Of course he remembered. He nodded. "While the poison mainly affected my lungs at the time the side effects also damaged my kidneys. I don't have any more lung problems, that healed well, but from time to time my kidneys are giving me trouble. I've had it before and it's no big deal as long as I get monitored by a doctor. They ran some tests today and found albumin, which means that I need to take some pills for a while. They also took blood, but I'll have to wait for those results for at least a week, if not two," she told him finally.

"Will you be ok?"he asked worriedly.

"I am. I have the meds now and I just need to drink more. It sounds worse than it is, believe me. I really just didn't want to worry you. The blood test was just a precaution," she told him again.

"Crazy lady," he sighed and pulled her in his arms. "Next time don't even try to hide it and just talk to me," he muttered against her hair. "It backfires every time. I know you too well by now."

"Am I forgiven?" she asked and looked up at him.

"Nearly," he grinned.

"What can I do so you'll forgive me?" she smiled back at him.

"Let me look after you, be honest with me and tell me what you wanted from Sweets today," he replied with a cheeky smile.

"Sweets? You wanna talk about Sweets? And here I was thinking that maybe I could convince you to a dip in your whirlpool. It's been a while since we've been alone in this place," she smiled. "But if you prefer talking about Sweets to me naked and a glass of champagne..." she teased.

"You're even allowed to drink alcohol while you're on medication?" he smiled, his lips already hovering over hers.

"Shhh," she quieted him and sealed his lips with hers before he could come up with more questions.

~*~

By the next morning their issues were resolved. She had spent most of the evening before apologizing in a very special way in the whirlpool and he had been so kind to grant forgiveness. They had started their day with a good breakfast, showering together and he had personally approved of her wardrobe for that day: A white blouse and a sand colored skirt. The drive to work had been filled with their usual banter and bickering and Hodgins noticed that the tension was gone now. She seemed relieved and he knew that she had been more worried about her trip to the doctor than she had admitted.

"I found evidence of a homogenous mixture of oily and waxy long-chain, which are non-polar hydrocarbons in, uh, this fracture of the skull," he told her and Angela later that morning while in the bone room.

"Can't you just say lubricant? Isn't that much quicker?" Cam replied and returned the smile that he shot her in reply to her question.

"Arastoo must be finished looking at the mini-fractures in that area, right? Where is he?" Angela asked, ignoring their eye-sex interlude just as Arastoo entered.

"Sorry. Sorry, I just finished morning prayers," he said without any foreign accent. While Cam bit her cheek to hide her smile Hodgins and Angela gaped at him, their eyes nearly falling out of their heads. "Skull fracture is located high on the frontal bone, right on the midline…" Arastoo went on but was interrupted by Hodgins.

"Whoa!" the entomologist exclaimed wide eyed.

"Who are you?" Angela asked the intern, shocked.

"I don't have an accent. I was faking it. But I am devout. I do pray five times a day. Now can we get back to work, please?" he replied and turned around to face them.

"Oh, no. Definitely not," Angela shook her head.

"How do we know you're not faking this accent?" Hodgins asked and glanced at Cam, noticing her amused expression. He couldn't believe that she had known about this and hadn't told him. She would so pay for it!

"Does Brennan know about this?" Angela wanted to know before he could lecture his girlfriend.

"Yes," Cam nodded. "She doesn't care." When Angela looked unbelievingly she repeated. "She doesn't care."

"The midline fracture..." Arastoo wanted to go on, but again Hodgins stopped him.

"N-n-n-n-n-n-n-n nooo," he made and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Arastoo, things will go a lot faster if you just explain," Cam said, knowing that Jack would never let him off the hook as long as he was unsatisfied with the explanation.

"When I speak as though I just got off the boat, people accept my religious convictions. Plus, fewer terrorist jokes. I don't know why," the intern said.

"'Cause they're afraid of you," Hodgins replied, slightly amused by now.

"You are so gonna to pay for this," Angela decided.

"Yeah," Hodgins assented.

"I have no doubt that is true. Now," Arastoo said and turned back around to the screen again. "This wound has a distinctive curve shape to it," he was back on the case and Cam walked over to him after Hodgins had pinched her waist.

"It doesn't look very severe. Corresponding micro fractures to the posterior cranium indicate that Kurt was hit while resting his head on a hard surface," she stayed on topic and refused to be distracted by her boyfriend. She knew this wasn't the end of this discussion, but she hoped they could settle this in private. Gave her much more possibilities to appease him.

~*~

"Time for lunch, turncoat," Hodgins said when he strolled into her office.

"Already?" she asked and checked her watch. "And why are you insulting me?" she asked innocently, but couldn't hide her amusement.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me!" he said and pulled her off her chair by her hands before he pulled her close.

"That's why I couldn't tell you about Sweets yesterday. I wanted to know whether Arastoo just weird or crazy," she giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"You seem relieved," he observed and dipped a finger underneath the seam of her blouse at her waist.

"I am. First the kidney thing can be resolved again with some meds and then it turns out Arastoo is merely a bit strange, but no terrorist," she nodded.

"You worried me. I'm not used to moody Dr. Saroyan," he said and kissed her lips.

"Because I'm always so uncomplicated," she smiled when he pulled back.

"I'm not easy either, leaving crumbs in the bed and all," he winked at her.

"Don't remind me. Just makes me wanna slap you," she said playfully.

"Kinky. Haven't tried that yet. Maybe we should...." he laughed.

"I remember you slamming me into the wall not that long ago, with my hands fixated above my head," her smile turned sultry.

"You really liked that, huh?" he shook his head slightly.

"You being all manly and agitated? Always. You were pretty dangerous that day and I wasn't sure if you would really hurt me or not," she admitted.

"I'd never hurt you, you know that. As for you slapping me....mmmh," he smiled.

"Slowly letting your kinks show, huh?" she laughed.

"Speaking of kinks… you wanna come with me and spend the lunch break in the men's room again?" he wiggled his eyebrows.

"As much as I'd like to be alone with you right now... I'll pass," she declined. She had to smile when she saw the disappointment in his eyes. It was moments like this that she felt herself falling for him even more than she already had. "I love you," she said softly, just because she felt like saying it. Before he could reply she pressed her lips to his and cupped the sides of his face with her hands. She closed her eyes and he moaned quietly when their tongues met. His hand was now resting on her naked skin underneath her blouse. They knew they couldn't and shouldn't exchange more than a few kisses in her office or anywhere else in the lab, but it was moments like this that got them through the long day and the gruesome cases.

"Lunch?" he asked after a few minutes of gentle but passionate kisses.

"Let's go before we lose our self control or someone walks in," she smiled and untangled from him to get her purse.

"We will continue this discussion at home tonight," he grinned and helped her into her jacket. "Oh, speaking of tonight. I have a special treat for our accent less intern," he remembered to inform her.

"What are you planning?" she wanted to know and quickly wiped some lipstick off the corner of his mouth before they stepped out of her office.

"Questioning him tonight with some snacks and lots of alcohol," he let her know.

"You're brewing moonshine again?" she asked knowingly.

"Oh yeah," he nodded slowly and with a large grin.

"I'm in," she smiled and wrapped her arm around his middle when they left the Institute.

"Might help you get into kinky mood for the rest of the night," he whispered in her ear and made her laugh out loud.

~*~

Following Hodgins orders part of the team met up on the mezzanine later that day. He had already poured Cam a drink, naturally serving her first and was pouring another glass while the others watched him from the sofas.

"Okay, this is basically vodka with a very, very subtle hint of pepper," he informed them and Cam nipped carefully on her drink, not really trusting Hodgins' abilities in that department. He came back over to them with two cups in his hands and offered one to Arastoo.

"None for me," the intern declined so he gave the glass to Angela and sat down in the chair.

"Okay, it's technically illegal moonshine, but we are scientists honing our craft," Cam justified their actions to herself.

"I don't drink alcohol," Arastoo insisted anyway and seemed content with his water.

"Okay, let's have it," Hodgins said then, starting the questioning he had wanted.

"Have what?" the intern asked.

"How do you balance an archaic religious belief with a life devoted to science?" Hodgins asked the question that seemed so obvious for him and the other two, but wasn't actually that obvious to Arastoo.

"This discussion is exactly what I hoped to avoid," he replied and avoided answering directly.

"It's not our fault you let the accent slip," Cam grinned, backing her boyfriend up on this.

"There's no conflict between Allah and science. Allah created the mystery of the world, and science struggles, and mostly fails, to explain it. But the search for truth is honorable, and I honor Allah through the search for truth," Arastoo replied this time, deciding to stop his avoidance .

"I get that. But what's with the 'Kill the infidel' routine?" Hodgins wanted to know.

"It's times like this I wish I drank alcohol," the questioned intern sighed with a smile.

"Well, 'Fight and slay the unbeliever'," Angela quoted what she had read a while ago.

"I prefer the other option, which is to enslave the unbeliever," Arastoo said, deciding to strike back this time. When he saw the shocked looks on their faces he knew he needed to clarify though.

"It's a joke."

"Ha," Cam made before she laughed.

"That was funny," Hodgins chuckled.

"Is this part done?" Arastoo asked, hoping they were done now and could talk about something else.

"Not quite. I have one more question," Cam said and rose holding an empty glass. "If you took the all-time greatest Celtics players and put them against the all-time greatest Lakers, who would win?" she asked while she poured herself some more of Hodgins creation.

"Including the years when the Lakers played in Minneapolis?" Arastoo asked and Cam nodded. "Definitely the Celtics," he decided then.

"Okay, I got one, I got one. Pit the all-time greatest Christians against the all-time greatest Muslims," Hodgins proposed and earned himself a slap on the back of the head as Cam walked past. When he looked at her she only raised her eyebrows and made them all laugh.

"Oh, you just got smote," Angela laughed.

" Wow," Hodgins chuckled and looked over at Cam who was still laughing, just like Arastoo and Angela.

"Speaking of slapping," Cam grinned at him.

"Always thought you'd much prefer to try new things in private," Hodgins replied with a suggestive grin.

"Oh my God!" Angela exclaimed before she burst into laughter again, while Arastoo just smiled uncomfortably.

"Jack!" Cam shrieked when it registered with her what he had just said.

"Took you long enough to get that one," he chuckled when she finally understood his dirty comment.

"Your moonshine is responsible. You better stop drinking after this one, cause you said you'd drive us home," she told him, her face still red with embarrassment.

"If I'm allowed to say this, you two make a nice couple," Arastoo said as he watched the interaction between them.

"Aw, you're so cute," Angela smiled at his comment and he blushed again.

"Thank you, Arastoo," Hodgins replied, ignoring Angela, and got off his chair and walked over to the couch to sit beside Cam. "Mind if I join you, babe?" he smiled at her.

"Not at all, honey," she said just a tad too sweet. He knew she didn't approve of terms of affection when others were present, especially at work.

"You want me to get a bucket with cold water?" Angela asked teasingly from the other side and made Arastoo laugh.

"Won't be necessary," Hodgins winked at her before he kissed Cam.

"Don't overstep the boundaries Dr. Hodgins. Just because you were allowed to make your little moonshine tonight doesn't mean that all the rules are nullified," Cam said and pushed him softly away by his chest.

"Still trying to keep him in line, Cam?" Angela smiled, knowing that Jack was just an affectionate guy.

"Trying would be the operative word. Sometimes I don't know who is worse: him or Michelle," she joked and pointed with her thumb to Hodgins. He reacted by pulling her against him and then sideways onto his lap. "Hey!" she shrieked and spilled some of her vodka on her skirt.

"Oops," Hodgins just laughed.

"Speaking of Michelle, how is it going between her and Perry? They're having sex or not?"Angela asked, the alcohol making her blunter than she usually was.

"No, not yet, but I guess it's only a matter of time," Cam replied and then looked to Arastoo. "Sorry, if we're making you uncomfortable. I know that in Islam one isn't allowed to have sexual relationships before marriage," she apologized when she saw him staring at his glass.

"I grew up in the US, Dr. Saroyan, so there's not much concerning that topic that would make me uncomfortable. Also, I'm a scientist, so I'm able to discuss pretty much everything anyway. Do I personally think that young girls should have sex? No. Do I judge them for having sex out of wedlock? No," he shrugged. "She should just be comfortable with herself and her body and use protection," he added as an afterthought.

"That's what I told her," Cam smiled at him.

"Hey, you have a girlfriend?" Angela made use of the opportunity and asked him.

"No, not currently. My last girlfriend and I broke up just before I started here," he replied.

"Forced marriage?" Hodgins attempted to make a joke, but Cam's look told him that it wasn't funny.

"No, she got a job offer in Europe. And she was Jewish," Arastoo said with a somewhat smug smile.

"Guess today is not my day," Hodgins muttered when Arastoo won that round.

"Poor Jack," Cam grinned and stroked over his hair when he let his head drop to her shoulder before they all started laughing again.

**TBC**

**Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks again to Gianna! I hope your PC problems can be fixed soon. Miss our conversations!**

**Chapter 6: The curse of the mummy**

Opening the door silently, he crept into the room and closed the door behind him as quietly as he could.

"You can come in, I'm awake," her voice startled him. It took a moment before his eyes adjusted to the darkness and he was able to make out her form on the bed. He sat down beside her on the edge of the bed and brushed some errant strands of hair off her face.

"You're feeling better?" he asked, worry swinging in his voice.

"Yes. The headache is nearly gone and I'm not nauseous anymore," she nodded and stretched her arms.

"You want another one of those magic pills as a precaution?" he wanted to know and swung his legs up on the bed.

"No, they just knock me out completely. I hate that," she replied tiredly and yawned.

"You know the doc said you could take more than one," he told her, wrapping one arm around her shoulders when she rested her head against his chest.

"I know. Last time I had to take the meds for the kidney stuff I also got migraines. I'll be fine once I'm used to the meds," she said and closed her eyes again. "You're staying here with me for a moment?"

"Sure, nowhere else I have to be," he smiled.

"Michelle fled?" she asked with a tiny smile.

"Yup, as soon as she could. Said she'd go to the mall with Kimberly. She can't stand the sound of someone throwing up," he grinned.

"Last time I had it, I just couldn't see anymore before the splitting headache set in. Throwing up is a first. Don't know what's worse," she replied.

"Maybe you should just time it better next time and get it during the week. That way you have the positive side effect of not having to go to work. Like this it just ruins your weekend."

"Jack, I don't want it to ruin your weekend as well. Maybe you should just go over to your place or make plans with Wendell or Angela or something," she said immediately and lifted her head to look at him.

"And leave you here to fend for yourself?" he asked back.

"It's no big deal. The worst part is over and you really don't need to stay here and look after me," she said reassuringly.

"What if I want to stay here and look after you?" he asked her, his eyes serious.

"Then you are more than welcome to stay and tend to my every wish," she smiled and kissed him softly.

"You want to eat something now?" he asked, knowing she hadn't had breakfast yet although it was already past noon.

"Not really. But I should drink something," she shook her head against his chest.

"Tea?"

"Yes please. But no chamomile, that makes me sick just smelling it," Cam replied and let him get up with a sigh, her most comfortable pillow gone for a while.

She had woken up during the night bathed in cold sweat and feeling sick. She had just made it to the bathroom in time before she started throwing up. For a moment she thought it had been Hodgins self made vodka, but then had to admit that it felt different from alcohol induced sickness. After the first round of retching the headache had followed, so strong that it had brought tears to her eyes. That's when she had known that the migraine had come back with the kidney medication, which was the reason why she had stopped taking them in the first place. Hodgins had been kind enough to drive to a pharmacy in the early hours of the morning and get her something for the migraine. She had been weeping with pain when he had come back, because of her headache and because of the constant throwing up. After she had taken a pill she had fallen asleep and hadn't woken until noon, when she found herself alone in bed. Not daring to get up she had stayed in bed, enjoying the darkness and quiet now that her head and her stomach felt better.

"Here's your tea, Miss," Hodgins said when he came back. On the tray beside the tea can and the cup was also a plate with toast and jam.

"You're not giving up that easily, huh?" she smiled when she saw the food.

"You have to eat something, otherwise the pills will upset your stomach even more," he said and she knew he was right. "Now scoot over, you're blocking the whole bed," he said and got in beside her. "Is there anything I can do for you once you're done with your late breakfast? Foot massage? Read you something? Recite poetry? Watch a movie?" he went on.

"You reciting poetry? Now that's something I'd like to hear," she teased him before she bit into her toast.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he huffed.

"I just can't picture it," she smiled at him.

"Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, and though they are with you, yet they belong not to you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts. For they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams," he quoted with much theatrics.

"Gibran? Not bad," she said truly impressed. "I was halfway expecting you to quote the periodic table."

"You want me to go on with Shakespeare? Or the opening line of Pride and Prejudice?" he grinned.

"Ok, which ex-girlfriend taught you that?" she asked laughingly, knowing that there was no way he would read Jane Austen out of his own free will.

"That's not important. It's only important that I can impress you with my skills now," he smiled back at her. "Impressed?"

"Very," she nodded and put her empty plate back on the breakfast tray. He took the tray and placed it on the floor beside the bed. When he lay back down she took her former position again, this time placing one leg over his.

"So what do you wanna do?" he asked her again and looked down at her. When she looked up to answer and their eyes locked her words died on the tip of her tongue. Instead of speaking she leaned up and kissed him softly, cupping his cheek with one hand.

"Okay?" she asked him quietly. He nodded and brought his lips back to hers. He just kept holding her and kissing her softly. They seemed to be breathing in sync while their tongues glided slowly against each other.

"I don't think we've ever done this without going further," he whispered when they stopped to catch their breaths.

"I'm sorry Jack, but we can't... not now at least," she apologized, her thumb gracing his stubble.

"Don't apologize. I love kissing you and it doesn't always have to go beyond this. Just because we're in bed together doesn't mean we have to have sex," he replied.

"Although we're really good at that," she grinned and kissed his lips again.

"Really, really good," he agreed and then stopped talking.

~*~

"Hodgins," he answered her phone later that Saturday.

"Ha, I knew I would catch you two there," he heard Angela's voice on the other end of the line.

"Why ? You tried my place first?" he laughed and leaned back against the couch again and tried to keep his voice down because Cam was asleep beside him.

"Yes, I did," she admitted.

"So? Why are you calling?" he asked when she remained silent after that admission.

"Oh, yeah, right. I have tickets for a vernisage and Tif dumped me last minute. I thought maybe you and Cam would like to come. Maybe we could grab a drink later," she said.

"Tonight?" he wondered, because that would be really short notice, even for Angela.

"No, tomorrow," she clarified.

"Sorry, Angie, but Cam's not feeling well and I doubt it will be ok by tomorrow. So, we'll pass," he declined.

"Aw, come on Jack. You could come alone, we'll go just as friends," Angela begged.

"No, I can't. Cam's suffering from a migraine at the moment and she's either in pain or throwing up. I won't leave her here like this," he insisted.

"Ok, but if she's better and you both want to come just give me a call," Angela sighed.

"We will," he nodded, stroking over Cam's hair when she stirred. "Shh, sleep and get better," he whispered quietly and pulled the phone away from his mouth.

"You really are an amazing guy," Angela said quietly, having heard what he had said to Cam. He noticed the wistful tone in her voice but decided not to comment on it.

"See you, Angela," he only replied and hung up.

"Angela?" he heard Cam mutter and looked down at her. Her head was resting in his lap while she was lying on her side on the couch. She had been fine for most of the day, but once she had taken her medication in the afternoon the headache had come back.

"Go back to sleep," he said again and softly massaged her temple with his thumb.

"Angela?" she asked again.

"She just called. Nothing important," he told her, knowing she wouldn't go back to sleep as long as she didn't know what was going on. His girlfriend was really curious, that much he knew.

"K," she mumbled, her eyes still closed, and drifted back off to sleep.

~*~

With the help of Hodgins' tender loving care and some other drugs Cam was able to go to work on Monday. She still didn't feel 100% and she was still tired and nauseous from the medication. She just wanted to get the work done and then go home to her bed. That was why she wasn't too happy when Sweets showed up to their crime scene on that Monday morning. When she heard that he was here to convince Brennan to let Daisy back in the team, she knew that this was a case of sexual power play by Daisy and she really didn't want to hear about that. So, she went to the mummy that hung on the fence and couldn't keep herself from making a comment or two about starting work, when Brennan and Booth kept discussing the issue with Sweets. She knew that something was odd about the body, but only after Brennan had made her way over with Booth and had started her inspection did things start to come together. After she made them sniff the body, it clicked in her head that this was no current victim, but a mummy that was thousands of years old. However that didn't explain the fresh blood, which, judging by the amount, was from a very recent victim.

The curse of the mummy had begun.

At least that was what Cam would later call the days that followed the findings of the mummy. The first annoyance presented itself when Daisy Wick was back at the lab. Cam decided that she wasn't able to stand her in her current condition and hid in her office while the others were out on the platform. When Hodgins stepped into her office wide eyed and shaking his head she knew it had to do with the annoying intern.

"Daisy?" she smiled slightly and moved to the side so he could sit down on the edge of her desk in front of her.

"You'll never guess what just happened," he told her, wonder still evident in his voice.

"Miss Wick stopped being annoying?" she guessed.

"No, she and Brennan bonded over the mummy," he said.

"They bonded?" she was still skeptical because she couldn't picture it.

"They were talking about the American Anthropological Association and how they could honor them because of the mummy and... I don't know it was just weird," he reported. "And Brennan was excited, like really excited. I thought she would start bouncing up and down any moment and Daisy actually did," he shuddered.

"Guess that means we won't get rid of her that easily this time," Cam sighed and rubbed over her eyes with one hand, careful not to ruin her make-up.

"Is the headache back?" he asked worriedly.

"No, I'm good. Just a bit tired. And I probably should change back into my normal clothes and get out of this jumpsuit," she said and looked down at herself.

"You want me to help you?" he grinned.

"Want it? Yes. But we can't do that," she shook her head but smiled. She was about to go on when his cell phone rang.

"Yes Shelly?" he asked and she knew that he was talking to one of his lab techs. While he listened to what his assistant had to say she got up and grabbed her clothes from the small closet, then walked into the small storage room, where she usually changed. She had just closed the door when Hodgins pulled it open again, nearly unhitching it.

"Jack!" she shrieked, appalled that he would just walk in like that. She was still dressed and it wasn't like he hadn't seen her naked before, but still.

"Shelly found an _Onthophagus gazella _imbedded in the femur of the mummy. A three thousand year old _Onthophagus gazella_!" he told her excitedly, hugged her and swung her around.

"You realize that I have no idea what you are talking about, right?" she asked him when he stopped twirling and just kept her in his arms, her feet not yet touching the ground.

"It's a dung beetle. A three thousand year old dung beetle," he burst out and pressed his lips against hers for a moment.

"How exciting," she replied sarcastically. She could dance for joy because of a won football game, a romantic date or some life changing event. But getting teary eyed because of a dung beetle was something she didn't understand. Knowing Jack though, it would be a while until he would stop talking about it.

"In ancient Egypt the _Scarabaeus sacer_ was sacred and was linked to _Khepri_, the god of the rising sun. The ancients believed that the dung beetle was only male in gender, and reproduced by depositing semen into a dung ball," he started his lecture and finally put her back down, now pacing the small room. So while he talked she changed, knowing that while he was caught up in his science he wouldn't get any kinky ideas. "The ancient Egyptians believed that _Khepri_ renewed the sun every day before rolling it above the horizon, then carried it through the other world after sunset, only to renew it, again, the next day. The image of the scarab, conveying ideas of transformation, renewal, and resurrection, is ubiquitous in ancient Egyptian religious and funerary art. Excavations of ancient Egyptian sites have yielded images of the scarab in bone, ivory..." Cam stopped listening at one point. She buttoned her blouse and paid attention that she didn't miss a button. Next she pulled out the several necklaces she wore today and placed them around her neck.

"The purpose of the "heart scarab" was to ensure that the heart would not bear witness against the deceased...." he was still babbling about the beetle and its significance in ancient Egypt.

"Hodgins!" she interrupted him loudly and he stopped talking.

"You've changed already," he observed surprised because although he had been in the same small room he hadn't noticed.

"Yes, I changed, put on my jewelry, fixed my makeup, redid my hair, painted my toenails..." she said with raised eyebrows.

"Ok, now I know you're exaggerating," he replied and smiled.

"Why don't you go to your lab, look at the bug and tell all of that to Shelly. I'm sure she'll appreciate it," she told him in a tone one would use with a little kid.

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" he asked in mock outrage.

"No, as your boss I'm sending you back to work, Dr. Hodgins," she replied and put her hands on her hips.

"Ok, Dr. Saroyan, see you later," he replied and opened the door to her office, stopped and turned back around."Oh and by the way, Your left bra strap is all tangled up. You might want to fix it," he whispered in her ear and then kissed her cheek before he was gone. She looked after him, shaking her head. He had actually watched her while she changed her clothes. Seemed like he still loved her more than his bugs.

~*~

"Database has no match on the blood. Hodgins found some 3,000-year-old bugs, so he's all weepy. I hope Dr. B. can get the mummy to talk," Cam said when she walked into Angela's office once her blood test was done. "Research, I assume," she went on when she saw the movie playing on Angela's large screen.

"Yes, uh, sure. Imhotep is looking for the reincarnation of his ancient lover. This could be a motive," Angela said like it would actually make sense.

"What are you doing here, Sweets?" Cam asked when she noticed the young psychologist standing next to Angela.

"He's Daisy's trainer. If she attacks, he can put her down," Angela answered for him just when Brennan entered the room with the mummy's head in her hands.

"He was decapitated. Can you do a facial reconstruction?" she asked Angela and handed her the tray with the head. "Perhaps we can match his face to an Egyptian coffin painting. Oh, The Mummy, 1932," she went on when she noticed the movie which was playing.

"You don't know who Britney Spears is, but you know this movie?" Cam pointed out with a smile. Brennan would never cease to amaze and shock her.

"It's the film that made me want to be an anthropologist. Although I prefer Chaney's Mummy to Karloff's," Brennan shrugged and left the office again, leaving behind the three stunned colleagues.

~*~

The next time Cam was stunned happened not much later and the shock still hadn't worn off when she met Hodgins for lunch at the diner.

"Brennan quoted a movie," was the first thing she said when she slid on the seat opposite to where he sat.

"Huh?" he looked up from his menu.

"Dr. Brennan quoted a movie today. She said that she loved that part and then started to speak along," she gesticulated wildly with her own menu that she had just picked up.

"Wow," he gasped and had to lean back against the backrest.

"You can say that again. What is it with people today? I'm still nauseous and barely able to keep up and suddenly everybody loses their mind? Brennan quotes movies, Daisy bonds with Brennan and fights with Sweets, Sweets hangs out in Angela's office where they watch black and white movies instead of work, you find a three thousand year old bug and just won't stop talking about it and Booth is jealous of his boss because he asked Brennan out on a date," she ranted and had to take a deep breath when she was done.

"I didn't mention the beetle yet!" he defended himself. "Although it is really interesting that..." he wanted to start, but she interrupted him.

"Hodgins please!" It sounded like whining even to her own ears.

"Sorry," he grinned. "So I heard our two giggle girls identified the mummy," he said.

"Yeah, some guy called 'Anok' or 'the boy with the bleeding heart'. Was decapitated because he killed his brother," Cam shrugged and closed her menu. When she looked up she found Hodgins looking at her, his forehead wrinkled like he was contemplating something.

"What?" she asked him, becoming a bit self-conscious.

"Did you just mention in your rant that Booth's boss asked Dr. B. out on a date?" he asked, now that it had sunk in.

"I did. Hacker invited her to dinner," she nodded as the waitress came and they placed their orders.

"Did she accept?" he wanted to know when they were alone again.

"Yes, she did. Obviously there's the option of sex with him, while she doesn't have that with Booth," she grinned, remembering what Angela had told her when they had been alone for a while watching the movie.

"Oh man, I'm not sure if I should feel sorry for Booth or be weirded out by Brennan. Can't she see how wrong this is?" he laughed.

"Obviously not. And I'm feeling sorry for Seeley. He really cares about her and he's her partner. So even if he's ok with that there's still the fact that she'll be going out with his bosses boss and most likely talk about him at one point. With Brennan not knowing when it's better to shut her mouth that might really cause some trouble," she replied.

"The curse of the mummy," he said and tried to sound creepy waving his hands beside his head.

"More like the curse of Hacker and Brennan," she laughed and relaxed for the first time that day.

~*~

The next day Booth and Brennan had found out who the blood had belonged to, because they had found Dr. Kaswell in Anoks casket. Dead. A dead body that was relatively fresh was clearly Cam's job and so she found herself once again in autopsy clothes in her office next to her dead colleague. Hodgins had yet to stop hovering over her so he was with her, even though he knew that Brennan and Cam were working. He was still worried about her health and after three days it was slowly driving her crazy just as much as she was touched.

"The FBI has locked down the Egyptian wing, looking for evidence," Cam said so Hodgins wouldn't start asking about her health again.

"I can't believe Dr. Kaswell is dead. I just met her a couple months ago at a party," he said, remembering the meeting.

"She seemed nice. She was pleasant, but an unexceptional anthropologist and obviously quite careless," Brennan said and sounded as detached as always.

"Perhaps, but it's sad nonetheless, Dr. Brennan, to lose one of our own here at the Jeffersonian," Cam said, her tone somewhat lecturing. She knew that Brennan wasn't implying anything else but it sure sounded like it.

"Of course," the anthropologist agreed, knowing that Cam was right. Hodgins had remained silent, obviously still remembering. He spoke up when suddenly something came to his mind.

"Truth be told, we kind of flirted with each other...," he said, feeling like he was keeping something from Cam if he didn't tell her.

"Not appropriate, Dr. Hodgins," Cam replied and didn't sound angry. As long as she was still lecturing him everything was ok. "Dr. Kaswell's blood's a match for the spray we found on the mummy," she navigated the talk back to work related topics.

"There are some metal flakes at the injury site. You say the word, I'll take them," he said, silently agreeing with her that this wasn't a talk they should have with Brennan present or while she was doing an autopsy. They could talk about Hodgins flirting another time. When Daisy came in a few seconds later Cam had a hard time keeping herself from groaning in annoyance. She hoped Brennan would deny her the right to speak, but she did not. And so started another day that was cursed by the mummy.

But Cam wasn't the only one who had to deal with annoyances. Jack had to deal with them as well, in the form of their current intern and his ex-girlfriends curiosity. After he had shown her and Cam how he had found out where the murder weapon had been forged Angela had stayed in his lab, because she had nothing else to do. He found himself wondering recently about Angela's behavior. She seemed to accept his and Cam's relationship and had been a great friend during the time they had been apart, but there was this feeling that he couldn't shake, that Angela spent more and more time with them, him especially.

"Isn't it weird that 3,000 years ago, Anok was a real guy, 24 years old - like Sweets - living his life and falling in love?" she asked him, swept up in the romance of the story.

" Yep. Bet he didn't know his afterlife was going to consist of being dissected and analyzed, like what he really is... just a mere mass of chemicals," he said and couldn't stop himself from teasing her.

"Yeah, that was the romantic notion I was going for. Thank you," she laughed and he turned back around to his particulates.

"Dr. Brennan wanted me to check on those particulate swabs from the mummy's chest cavity. Not that I'm trying to rush you or anything," Daisy came into the room. He noticed that something seemed off, mainly because she apologized, but he was absolutely staying out of it. He had enough complicated women in his life, he didn't need to know about the problems of one more.

"Is everything okay, Daisy?" Angela couldn't keep her mouth shut.

"Oh, I can't believe you asked that," he groaned and internally cursed that they were in his lab which meant he couldn't just leave.

"Lance and I had a little disagreement. He's overbearing and untrusting and I'm evaluating the future of our relationship. You're so good to ask. We're close, aren't we?" the intern asked and he knew he had to perform some sort of damage control before he would be considered the "go to" guy when it came to relationship problems.

"Hey, look what I found. Three different particulates within the chest cavity. We got crushed mammal bone, kermes insect and woad legume," he said quickly and hoped to distract them.

"Animal, vegetable and mineral," Angela said. It had worked.

"Actually, that would be two animals and a vegetable because bone is organic, not a mineral." Daisy was being her obnoxious self and Angela surprised them both by rushing out of his lab. They followed her and found themselves on the platform. Angela explained that she knew that what he had found was color residue, but just as they started to investigate it further Cam stepped up, a strange woman in tow, and he saw that she looked even more annoyed than she had earlier that day. She was still wearing her autopsy clothes which was an indication that she had been caught by surprise. Usually she made a point out of changing before she welcomed someone in her function as the head of the forensic department.

" This is Azita Jabbari from the Egyptian National Museum," she said and it didn't really sound like a simple introduction. They all remained silent.

"Turn off that light," the woman barked.

"What? Wait a minute. We just discovered...," he protested, his rebellious streak showing.

"We have not authorized any invasive or investigative procedures on Anok," the Egyptian replied.

"Ms. Jabbari wants her mummy back," Cam told them.

"_The Boy With the Bleeding Heart _goes back to Cairo. Today. Unless you would like to start a feud between our two governments," she threatened and left them all speechless. How could one argue with it?

~*~

"So how did you manage to convince her to let us keep the body?" Hodgins asked her while they were in the elevator riding up to her apartment.

"It was more the missing CAT scans that convinced her," she replied and stepped out of the elevator first.

"What is that?" Hodgins asked when they heard a horrible noise echoing through the hallway. The closer they got to her apartment the louder the noise got.

"That's supposed to be music," she yelled over the beat of the music and unlocked her door. "Michelle?" she screamed but there was no reply.

"I doubt she can hear you," Hodgins screamed and put his hands over his ears. Both stepped further into the apartment, not caring to take their shoes off, following the noise. They found the source in Michelle's room, which was empty besides the blaring stereo. Cam pushed the standby button and then there was silence.

"Oh thank God," he sighed when the song stopped.

"Hey! Why did you turn off my music?" Michelle asked when she suddenly burst out of the bathroom from across the hall.

"Oh that wasn't music," Hodgins shook his head vigorously. Michelle glared at him.

"I actually have to agree. That's no music, at least not at this volume," Cam said with a stern look.

"That's Perry's and my song and I wanted to hear it while I was in the bathroom getting ready for our date tonight," Michelle complained.

"In the bathroom? You could have been on the other side of town and still have been able to hear it," Cam huffed.

"I think I'm deaf," Hodgins whined, rubbing his ear.

"You're totally exaggerating," Michelle said angrily and stepped forward to turn on her stereo again.

"Don't you dare!" Cam threatened with a pointed index finger, her voice getting dangerously high.

"You suck!" Michelle yelled at her, obviously just as much in a bad mood as Cam was.

"Hey now," Hodgins spoke up before he thought about it. Usually he stayed out of their arguments and his only participation was comforting Cam or calming her down afterwards. However while he was still in protective mode because of her health problems he couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"Stay out of it, it's none of your business," Michelle now turned to him.

"You damaged my hearing forever, so I totally think this is my business," he shot back, now getting angry as well.

"Oh, leave me alone," she muttered and turned to her bed where her purse lay.

"You either apologize right now or you're staying home tonight," Cam said, her voice shaking with anger.

"I will absolutely not apologize and I will go on my date," Michelle replied and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"You will not," Cam spat back, putting her hands on her hips and throwing her a look that Hodgins only knew too well from when he blew something up.

"What will you do? Lock me in here?" Michelle yelled.

"Try me!" Cam yelled back and they both glared at each other. By the looks of it Hodgins was expecting them to get into a fist fight any second. If one of them would only so much as blink the other would surely attack.

"Come on, we'll change and then make something to eat," he said softly and led Cam out of the room by her shoulders. Before he closed the door behind him he threw Michelle one last disapproving look. The door had just shut when something crashed against it from the inside. Immediately Cam turned around and wanted to go back in.

"I will kill her," she said through gritted teeth.

"No, you won't. Come on," he stopped her by grabbing her arm and then gently led her to her bedroom.

"You should have stayed out of it," she said once they were behind closed doors.

"Hey, don't start with me now. We've had enough spats these last few days," he held up his hands in surrender.

"Not my fault," she muttered, a pout slowly breaking out on her face. Not caring about her moodiness he kissed her pouting mouth softly.

"Stop it," he whispered when he pulled back and hugged her to him before she could say another word.

"I don't know what is wrong with me lately. I act like a total bitch," she sighed against his shoulder.

"I know you don't want to hear it, but you're sick and not feeling well. You're allowed to be bitchy," he said and kissed her forehead before he stepped back from her. "Now get changed so we can start dinner," he ordered, playfully slapping her butt.

"Can't we just order Chinese or pizza?" she asked and took her sweatpants out of her closet, handing him another shirt.

"Sure. I'll call Al," he nodded, threw his shirt on the ground and pulled the clean one over his head. He looked at her when he felt her eyes on him and found her glaring between him and the T-shirt on the floor. "Don't start," he told her again and pecked her lips before he picked up his shirt and left the room, feeling like he was fleeing. After all he had to be alive to order Chinese.

He wasn't sure why he did it, but before he had really thought about what he was doing he'd knocked on Michelle's door, then, stepped inside carefully when he didn't hear anything.

"What do you want?" she asked from the bed where she was lying, facing away from him.

"I wanted to know if you'd like some Chinese as well. We're ordering from Al's," he told her friendly.

"I just wanna go on my date and for you to leave me alone," she tried to provoke him.

"You and Perry are going for dinner?" he asked.

"No," she grumbled.

"You need to eat something," he tried it again.

"I'm not hungry," she muttered.

"Come on, Michelle. You eat something and I'll try to talk to Cam again. Give her a moment to calm down and I'm sure she'll let you go out with Perry," he said while stepping into the room and closed the door behind him.

"Why are you being nice to me? You want her alone for yourself tonight so she can yell at you some more? Don't think I didn't notice, because I know when you fight," she said and rolled from her stomach onto her back so she could look at him.

"She's really stressed lately and not feeling too well," he shrugged but didn't deny anything. What she said was true after all.

"She said her migraine from the weekend is completely gone," Michelle replied and sounded worried suddenly.

"You know Cam, she's not good at admitting any weakness. It's not gone yet and the meds make her either tired or nauseous, depending on which one she takes," he said, leaving out the kidney problems. He knew Cam hadn't told Michelle yet and it wasn't his place to do it.

"I'll take the usual Wang Tangs and rice with chicken," Michelle said after a moment of silence.

"Ok," he nodded with a small smile and turned to leave her room.

"Dr. H.?" she stopped him. "Is Cam alright?" She sensed that there was more to it than a simple migraine.

"Not yet, but she'll be fine," he reassured her with a wink and left the room.

~*~

"If the food doesn't get here within the next ten minutes I have to go without eating," Michelle whined while she paced in the living room.

"Pacing won't make it get here any faster," Hodgins grinned.

"He said it'd be here fifteen minutes ago," she went on, tugging nervously on the shirt she was wearing.

"Michelle, would you just sit down, you're driving me crazy," Cam groaned from the couch where she and Hodgins were sitting watching TV.

"But..." she started to protest.

"Sit," Hodgins ordered with a smile that told her she should just do it before Cam's temper would flare again. "You could get the napkins from the kitchen," he said when she didn't stop fidgeting and he felt Cam stiffening beside him.

"K," she said, knowing he was trying to protect her date with Perry after all. Just as she disappeared into the kitchen the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," he said loudly before Cam or Michelle could kill the messenger, or in that case the delivery boy. He waited until he heard the elevator open before he opened the door. The woman standing there was somewhat familiar, but she wasn't the delivery boy.

"Yes?" he asked her, not knowing where he knew her from.

"Holy crap, who are you?" she asked while she looked him over.

"Who are _you_?" Hodgins replied defensively, crossed his arms in front of his chest and cocked his head to the side, eying her warily.

"Felicia," he heard Cam's voice directly behind him and slowly turned around to her. She wore a bright, fake smile and quickly tried to wrap her hair in a pony tail.

"Hi Cam," Felicia grinned back,looking like the cat that caught the canary, her eyes still on Hodgins. The sisters exchanged fake kisses on the cheek and before Cam could stop her, her sister had made her way into her apartment.

"Why did you let her in?" Cam hissed at Hodgins.

"I thought it was the delivery guy," he whispered back.

"You should have checked," she said angrily before she painted the fake smile on her face again and followed her sister into the living room. Hodgins felt a bit shell shocked and it took him another moment until he was able to follow them, not really sure what to make of the situation. As far as he knew Cam's sister knew that she wasn't with Booth anymore, but she didn't know about him.

"So what are you doing here?" Cam asked and leaned against the couch, not daring to sit down. She knew that if she would sit down and get comfortable Felicia wouldn't leave again.

"Oh you know, just stopping by," Felicia grinned.

"Dr. H. you want a ..." Michelle, who came out of the kitchen with the napkins and a spoon, froze when she saw Felicia. "Oh boy," she muttered so quietly that only Hodgins, who stood next to the kitchen door, could hear her.

"Hi Felicia," she smiled then, obviously having been initiated into the circle of false smiles.

"Michelle, honey, hi," Felicia waved from the couch.

"Ok, guys, I've gotta go," Michelle decided. She would rather wait twenty minutes outside than spend a minute with Felicia and Cam in one room.

"Ok, don't forget your key," Cam replied.

"You need cash to get something to eat?" Hodgins asked quietly when Michelle checked her purse.

"Couldn't hurt," Michelle replied just as quietly.

"Here," he said and handed her a twenty dollar bill, aware that Felicia's eyes were still on him.

"Thanks. And good luck," Michelle winked at him and was out the door with another wave, just as the Chinese food arrived. He paid the delivery guy and took the food from him before he made his way back into the living room where there was still silence.

"I don't suppose you're the butler or the manny," Felicia started.

"Manny?" he replied and handed Cam her food.

"You know, a guy who's a nanny," Felicia explained with a shrug.

"I think Michelle's a bit old for a nanny," Cam rolled her eyes and sat down at the dining table, where Hodgins was waiting for her.

"I would hire you, although I don't even have a kid," Felicia grinned at Hodgins while Cam cringed visibly.

"As long as you don't have bugs, slime or rare plants in your home I'm not of any use," he shook his head and handed Cam one of his rolls while he took the mushrooms off her noodles.

"Oh, I have plants at home," Felicia grinned and came over to the table.

"That's uhm... good to know," Hodgins shrugged without any interest. "You want the wang tangs?" he asked Cam and opened the box.

"Maybe one or two," she replied.

"K, I'll get you something to drink," he said when he remembered that she needed to drink more than usual.

"Oh, can you get me a drink as well?" Cam's sister asked and he just nodded.

"So what really brings you here?" Cam asked curiously and eyed her sister.

"Can't I just stop by and visit my sister?" Felicia asked.

"Sure you can, but you don't," she replied.

"You know that Dad's birthday is on Saturday," Felicia started and gave Cam an idea where this was going.

"And you wanted to come here and gloat because you thought I didn't have a date," she nodded slowly. Her sister would never change.

"No, I came here because I have a date for you. Or had, since it's obviously not necessary anymore," her sister replied. "You gonna tell me who that is?"

"I'm Jack Hodgins, I work at the Jeffersonian, have never been married, no kids," he answered when he came back. He handed Felicia a glass of orange juice and placed a bottle of water on the table with a glass for Cam. He made a point out of kissing her quickly before he sat back down.

"How come I didn't know about Mr. Hodgins here," Felicia turned her attention back to Cam.

"Maybe because you haven't called in a while. Last time we saw each other was shortly after Michelle moved in," Cam replied calmly.

"And you didn't know each other back then?"

"We knew each other, but we weren't a couple," Cam answered.

"A couple, hm? So it's serious?" Felicia asked indiscreetly.

"Yes," they both replied at the same moment and laughed after exchanging a look, momentarily forgetting Felicia.

"So I guess that means that we'll all see each other again on Saturday," Cam's sister smiled brightly.

"What? No, we... I...," Cam stuttered surprised.

"Don't be late, you know Dad hates that," Felicia said and stood up. "I have to go now."

"Felicia wait," Cam said but Felicia was already at the door.

"Can't, I promised Dad I'd call at nine. I have _so much_ to tell him," she grinned and was gone.

"I'm really cursed," Cam groaned a second later and buried her face in her arm on top of the table.

"She's even scarier than I remember her," Hodgins shook his head and then picked up another wang tang.

"Hey! She's my sister," Cam's head snapped up.

"Sorry," he muttered and decided that maybe it was safer to remain silent.

"You should be. You just booked us a nice family dinner on Saturday," she told him, pointing at his face. "For the last six months I have been trying to keep you away from this mess to protect you and now you go and open the door to my sister!" she started her lecture.

"I didn't know it was her," he tried to defend himself.

"And now she'll tell my dad and he'll lecture me because he either thinks I'm jumping from one guy to the next or because he thinks I was lying when I told him I was still with Seeley," she was on a roll.

"You _were_ lying," he had the nerve to point out. "You never told him about us."

"I was only protecting you," she shrieked.

"I never needed protection. I got tattooed by a crazy Texan, how much worse can it get?" he asked.

"You have no idea," she said and threw her arms up in frustration.

"I told you when we got together that you should tell him. This mess now isn't my fault," he insisted.

"You just wanted me to tell him because you were jealous of Seeley," she yelled at him.

"Ok, fine, I was, but you should have told him anyway," he yelled back.

"But I don't want to. I want to live in peace and quiet without my family meddling in my life. How will I explain to them on Saturday why you couldn't come? And how will I dodge all the coming invitations?"

"How about we just go to this freakin' dinner on Saturday and get it over with?!" he was really angry now as well as hurt that she still wanted to keep him from meeting her family.

"No way! I will not expose you to that," she shook her head.

"You know what? I don't think this is about your family, but about me. You're ashamed of _me_ and that's why you don't want them to meet me," he yelled, slammed his palm against the table and stood up.

"That's not true," she just yelled and followed him into the bedroom. "You can only lose with them and they would eat you alive. You're not used to family, let alone one like mine," she spoke loudly, but wasn't yelling anymore.

"It's not my fault my parents died and I've been on my own for the last decade. You ever thought that maybe I'd enjoy it to be around family, even if it's yours and not mine?" he asked, the hurt radiating off of him with every word.

"They are crazy, completely nuts. They pick fights with everyone. My aunt was arrested ten times for assault, the whole neighborhood is afraid of my dad, not to mention the fact that he still firmly believes that I'm still a virgin. He only liked Seeley because he couldn't knock his lights out and because he's catholic," she tried to explain. "They are so competitive they start a fistfight over domino and anyone who doesn't vote for republicans will rot forever in hell," she tried to get her point across.

"Cam, at the moment I really don't care. I just wanna go home," he said, defeat evident in his voice.

"What? Jack, no, please, " she hated that it sounded like she was begging- which she actually was.

"I've had enough for today. I just... I need a break. You not feeling well and picking random fights with me is one thing, but that you insist on hiding me from your family is something else," he said and pecked her quickly on the cheek, like he needed to get it over with. "See you tomorrow," he said and left her stunned behind.

~*~

Cam hadn't seen him all morning. She had hoped that he would have calmed down, but obviously he hadn't. She couldn't understand why he couldn't see that she was just worried about his safety- both physically and mentally. And she was scared of losing him. He wouldn't be the first boyfriend she had that ran after meeting her family for the first time. Even Michelle avoided them like the plague and they had actually tried being nice to her. If her father would ever meet Hodgins she wasn't sure of the outcome. She kept contemplating what she could do to get out of it somewhat elegantly, but her mind seemed blank. The medication was still messing with her head and she made a mental note to talk about that with her doctor once the blood results were in. She couldn't go on like this. She was on an emotional rollercoaster and most of the time it was Jack who had to suffer when she started bitching for minor reasons. She wanted this relationship to work and at the moment her father wasn't the only problem. She seemed the even bigger one recently.

"Dr. Sweets," she said and looked up when the young psychologist entered her autopsy room.

"I was looking for Daisy," he lied halfheartedly.

"Haven't seen her," she let him know, but he didn't leave.

"Looks like you're making Carpaccio," he said and pointed to what she was doing.

"This is Dr. Kaswell's brain," she said disapprovingly and kept cutting. She had to pay attention not to yell at him when annoyance bubbled up inside of her.

"Oh, God, I'm sorry. Oh. Okay, uh, Dr. Saroyan, I'm having some serious problems with Daisy. Can I ask your advice?" he asked what he had really come for.

"No," she replied shortly.

"No? Really?" he asked taken aback.

"Really. I have a 16-year-old and believe me, when it comes to dating advice, I am batting a red hot zero," she said and tried to be friendlier this time.

"But you've been through this, like, a million times yourself," he said the absolute wrong thing.

"Did you just call me old?" she asked, the annoyance back.

"Is that what it felt like?" he wanted to know.

"Yeah," she said, the cutter still in her hand. He obviously wasn't aware of the danger he was in.

"You see? I can't help it. I alienate every woman I talk to, no matter how pure my motives," he burst out desperately.

"All right, give me a ballpark. No specifics. I don't want specifics," Cam gave in with a sigh and put the instrument down. She felt sorry for him.

"The woman I love won't speak to me," he tried to be as vague as possible.

"You are an excellent shrink," she said after thinking about his situation for a second. "You know you can help people, but Daisy's not people. She's the person you love, the person you have to trust. If Daisy's gonna screw up, you have to let her. It'll show her you have faith in her," she said.

"Yeah. That's superb advice," Sweets complimented happily.

"It was kind of good, wasn't it?" she smiled a bit when it registered with her what she had just told him.

"I thought I was taking care of her, but you're absolutely right. I- I was just insulting her. Thank you," he smiled.

"No problem," she replied, still smiling. "And now we're done," she said wanting to get back to work, when he suddenly hugged her." Done. Ooh! Dr. Sweets, you're crushing me and I think you're getting brain on your suit. Brain," she said so he would let her go again. When he finally pulled back Cam saw Daisy standing there. The curse of the mummy stroke again.

"Well, this just gets more and more interesting, doesn't it?" the intern asked angrily.

"Oh, no. It was a friendship hug," Sweets hurried to explain.

"And an uncomfortable one," Cam added. Was this woman crazy? What should she want with Sweets? "You need something, Ms. Wick?" she asked her when she just kept staring.

"Um, a courier just dropped off the memory chip from the CAT scan machine Dr. Kaswell used to image Anok. Angela's looking at it now," Daisy finally spit out.

"Oh. Thank you," Cam said, got rid of her gloves and apron and was out the door before she would have to witness another talk between Daisy and Sweets. She knew she wouldn't be able to stand it. Not today, not as long as the mummy was still with them.

~*~

After Angela had uploaded the scans, Daisy joined them and Hodgins stopped by as well.

"It's crystalline in structure. It's a corundum in the trigonal crystal system and the hexagonal scalenohedral class," he said and knew by the structure what had been hidden inside Anok's chest. Cam knew by the excited look on his face that it must be something big.

"A mineral of some sort?" Daisy asked.

"If the CAT scan were in color, it'd be red and really expensive," he tried to keep up the mystery.

"A ruby," Cam blurted out when she saw it.

"Yeah, a giant ruby," Angela agreed and they all knew that whoever had murdered Dr. Kaswell must have known about the ruby.

"Hey, Dr. Kaswell's grad student... I mean, he's the one that requested the scans," Hodgins thought out loud.

"Booth cleared him. He was working on dioramas at time of death but Azita Jabbari, she knew about them, too. She gave permission to have them done," Cam disagreed and tried to catch his eyes.

"Yeah, and she tried to get Anok taken away from us before we could finish investigating," he agreed and gave her a tiny smile that made her heart flutter in relief.

"Dr. Hodgins, do you have a minute?" she asked formally for the sake of protocol.

"Sure," he shrugged- "I just need to check on the bandages that we took off the mummy," he added.

"Ok, just stop by once you're done. I'll be in the autopsy room," she said and left Angela's office.

"What was that all about, Dr. Hodgins?" Angela asked teasingly once Cam was gone.

"About the curse of the mummy," he replied cryptically and left before she could ask him more questions.

~*~

"Here I am," he said when he walked in and locked the door behind him as a precaution. He thought about closing the blinds as well, but he knew Cam wasn't too fond of that because she always feared rumors would go around if they were in her office for too long with the blinds shut.

She was at the sink, washing her hands after finishing the autopsy on Dr. Kaswell. "Sweets stopped by earlier and asked for my advice," she said and unzipped the autopsy jacket. She wore a black T-shirt underneath.

"Advice for what?" he asked and sat down on her desk chair.

"Daisy, their relationship and their fight," she told him and leaned against her desk right beside him.

"Uh huh," he just nodded, not really sure what to do with this information.

"I basically told him that sometimes by protecting the ones we love we insult them without realizing it and that maybe it's necessary to just let them fend for themselves when it comes to certain things so they know we trust them," she said and played nervously with her fingers.

"Good advice," he nodded. "Maybe he can work things out now with Daisy," he added.

"Maybe we can, too," she said and looked up from her hands. "I told you already, but I'm gonna do it again; I'm not ashamed of you, that is just crazy. Maybe I'm a bit afraid that you'll run after you meet my family, just maybe," she admitted. "But you want to meet them and you want them to know about us and I'm fine with that. I trust you and I trust your judgment. You don't know yet what will be coming your way, but I'll just let you handle this and be there to nurse your self-esteem back to normal once we're home again," she finished her speech.

"Sounds good," he smiled and covered her hands with his. "However it's a bit creepy that you needed Sweets and Daisy to come to that conclusion," he teased her.

"He's a good shrink after all," she laughed.

"True," he agreed before he got up. "How are you? You're feeling better?" he asked her then.

"I called my doctor this morning and asked her about the migraine medication. I'm still nauseous and barely able to keep anything down. She said she'd have another prescription ready for me this afternoon for other meds and some stuff to protect my stomach," she informed him, holding his hand on top of hers.

"You're gonna pick them up after work?"

"Yes, it's on my way home anyway," she nodded.

"Ok, so your place it is today," he grinned before he pecked her on the lips.

"Shall we leave a bit earlier today and maybe go out for dinner tonight with Michelle? After all your sister ruined Chinese last night," he asked.

"Hey, leave my sister alone," she scolded and slapped him playfully on the arm. "And dinner out sounds great. Maybe we should get back to work now, so we can really leave earlier."

"Ok, see you later baby," he kissed her quickly and was off.

~*~

"Honestly, do we look like the personal shrink unit for Sweets and Daisy?" he ranted later during dinner. Michelle was already in hysterics, laughing so hard she had spit out her water, because Hodgins and Cam kept ranting about Sweets and Daisy. "She honestly asked me if he was cute! Yes, he looks like a giant toddler, but I doubt that equals cute. And what is it with women calling men cute? We aren't cute," he went on.

"Right this moment you really are," Cam laughed and pinched his cheek playfully.

"Very, even I have to admit that," Michelle laughed with her and Hodgins blushed.

"That's still nothing compared to the new video footage that was delivered to me today by security. He rawrs," Cam told Michelle and Hodgins.

"He what?" he asked.

"I don't wanna go into detail here, but she asked him if he wanted to be her Lancelot again and he answered with 'rawr'. Obviously that turns her on," Cam was laughing so hard she had to wipe her eyes with the napkin.

"That's sick!" Hodgins exclaimed before he burst out laughing again.

"I can never look Dr. Sweets in the eyes again," Michelle gasped.

"Do you still have that video? I'd love to see that," he wanted to know.

"Perv! I only saw the first 2 minutes and I'll have nightmares for at least a week. Honestly I think the security guards are making a joke out of delivering this stuff to me, knowing I'll be mortified," she shuddered.

"What? How many of these tapes did you get? I thought this was a work place and not a brothel," Michelle huffed and Hodgins stopped laughing, suddenly looking really guilty.

"You know, Michelle, there are _some people_ at the lab who don't know what is appropriate for work and what isn't," she said with a sideward glance to her man.

"Mhm, speaking of appropriate," he cleared his throat and was suddenly desperate to change the topic. "Will you be coming along to the birthday celebration or the exhibit on Sunday?" he asked Michelle.

"No to both. I have a math exam on Monday so I have to study. Also, now I'm equally afraid of Cam's family and the squints. Good luck with both of them!" Michelle said just as their food arrived. Cam nodded quietly and hoped that the curse of the mummy was broken now.

**TBC**


	7. Chapter 7

**This is my present to you for the 100th episode. So amazing... although I feel sorry for Hodgins wrist. That's all I'm saying in case you haven't seen it yet.**

**Thanks to Gianna for betaing! ****Chapter 7: Melolontha Melolontha and other bugs**

* * *

"You really want to do this?" Cam asked him for the umpteenth time that day. "The second we step in there, there's nothing I can do to save you," she pointed out again.

"Relax, I'm gonna be just fine," he laughed her off again, not really scared. Yes, he was nervous about meeting her family and he also knew that the Saroyan clan would be difficult to handle, but at the same time he was looking forward to it. Finally, he would get to meet her family and they would get to know him as her boyfriend. This made their relationship even more official and he nearly felt like he was attending a ceremonious celebration instead of her father's birthday party.

"Ok, then let's get this over with," she said darkly and clutched his hand tighter than before, then rang the doorbell of the suburban family home.

"You grew up here?" he asked what he had been wondering ever since they had pulled up to it twenty minutes ago.

"No, I grew up in Queens. My parents moved here right after I finished high school," she replied as they waited for someone to open the door.

"Cami!" a man barked happily as he opened the door and pulled her into a tight hug that made her hand slip out of Hodgins'.

"Hey Dad, happy birthday" she replied and kissed his cheek before he pulled her into another hug.

"How are you, honey?" he asked her as he pulled back and looked at her, keeping her close by placing his hands on her shoulders.

"I'm fine Dad," she smiled but was far from relaxed; her tense shoulders told Hodgins as much.

"I'm so happy you could come, princess. Where's my little girl? Where's Michelle?" he asked her then and looked past her, seeing Hodgins standing in the doorway. "Who are you?" he wanted to know and the smile vanished from his face. Instead his eyebrows rose and if Hodgins hadn't been so nervous he would have laughed because he knew that look too well

"I'm Jack Hodgins, Sir. Happy birthday" he replied and held out his hand. Cam's father didn't take it, but rather looked at it like it was poisonous.

"Dad, I told you I was bringing him," Cam said quietly, nearly begging him.

"I guess you did," he just replied, still eying Hodgins warily. "Now where's Michelle?"

"She had to study for her exam on Monday and couldn't come. She said she'd call you later," Cam replied while Hodgins was still standing outside. Cam made a point of stepping away from her father and holding her hand out to Jack, leading him into the house. "Daddy, this is Jack Hodgins. Jack this is my father," she introduced them unnecessarily and this time her father took Hodgins hand and squeezed it as hard as he could. He looked surprised when Hodgins had the guts to squeeze back.

"So, Jack huh?" Mr. Saroyan muttered. "Why didn't you bring my boy Seeley?" he asked Cam and Hodgins just shook his head, a tiny smile on his face. This guy wasn't going to pass up any opportunity to try and provoke him.

"Dad, you know..." Cam started mortified but Hodgins interrupted her.

"Booth says hi and was sorry he couldn't come with us, but it's his weekend with Parker," Hodgins grinned. He had been anticipating this sentence, knowing it would come so he had an answer ready. Cam gaped at him and her father seemed too surprised to react at first, but then helped his daughter out of her jacket.

"Jack, if you give me your jacket we can put them in the office so they're out of the way," Cam said when she took her jacket from her father.

"Sure," Hodgins shrugged, but took both jackets and followed her into the first room on the right, which appeared to be her father's study. Cam placed their clothes over an armchair and took his hand in hers on their way back out.

"We were already waiting on you for dinner, princess. You're way too thin, you need to eat more," Mr. Saroyan said when they stepped out of the office. He glanced disapprovingly at their joined hands but led the way to the dining room, where at least 25 people were sitting. There seemed to be even more people in the kitchen and the living room. Kids were running around tables followed by barking dogs, babies were passed from one family member to the next, crying for their parents and the adults were discussing loudly.

"Hi everyone," Cam said loudly into the room, but no one seemed to react. "Nice to be back," she said quietly and Hodgins squeezed her hand gently and gave her a tiny smile when she looked at him.

"Everyone, this is Jack Hodgins. He's Cami's friend and her guest for tonight," Cam's father yelled into the room and that seemed to get everyone's attention because all heads turned in his direction.

"Friend and guest, huh?" Felicia grinned suggestively from the kitchen and made her way over to Cam and Hodgins.

"Yes, he's my boyfriend and he's here with me," Cam shrugged nonchalantly and air-kissed her sisters cheeks, aware that everybody was now listening.

"What happened to that FBI hunk?" her aunt asked from the living room and came over as well.

"Seeley and I haven't been together in a long time," Cam admitted and stepped closer to Hodgins, partially shielding him from her aunt Sally.

"You're FBI as well, Jack?" she asked him, her eyes wandering over his upper body that was only too defined with the tight shirt he wore.

"No, I work at the Jeffersonian Institute with Cam," he shook his head as he stroked a piece of fuzz off Cam's shoulder.

"What was your name again?" Cam's great-aunt yelled over from the armchair by the fireplace and Cam walked over to her and kissed her cheek, pulling Jack after her.

"Jack Hodgins, Mam," he answered obediently.

"Let me look at you," she requested and put her glasses on her nose that had been hanging around her neck before.

"Those eyes, the curls.... You're not working at the Jeffersonian. You're the sole heir of the Cantilever group, Michael's son," she said.

"Busted," Hodgins muttered, the room suddenly dead silent.

"How do you know Ann?" Cam gasped.

"As a young woman I worked in the kitchen at the Hodgins estate. I've know this young man since he was born," she said and smiled friendly at him.

"Oh wow," Cam said quietly. "I didn't know," she told Hodgins.

"Me either," he shrugged, refusing to make a big deal out of it.

"You didn't know your friend is a billionaire?!" he father asked loudly, making sure that everyone had heard the billionaire loud and clear.

"No, I mean that Ann worked for the Hodgins family," Cam shook her head.

"You couldn't just bring a normal guy after Seeley, you had to make sure he was gonna be special too, didn't you?" Felicia hissed at Cam, but Hodgins could hear as well.

"I'm not with Jack because he has money," Cam whispered back, as aggressively as she could whisper with her whole family staring at them.

"Sure, I'd say that as well," Felicia huffed and then stomped off.

"Do you two always have to fight? Go and apologize to your sister, Cami," her father piped up.

"I absolutely won't! I didn't do anything wrong," Cam replied with a pout on her face and looked like an offended four year old.

"I don't like it when you behave like this, missy," Cam's father lectured her, but she just rolled her eyes.

"I'm not three anymore so you can stop telling me what to do, Dad," she replied and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"You go and apologize or you can go up to your room, young lady," Mr. Saroyan said sternly and pointed to the stairway.

"Is he serious?" Hodgins chuckled as quietly as he could.

"He grounded Booth once when he broke Dad's baseball racket. Accidentally," Cam whispered back, not really noticing that Hodgins had slipped one arm around her waist. It was so normal for both of them that her inner alarm didn't even go off when her father was around.

"Hey you! Take your hands off my daughter! Who do you think you are?! Just because you have money doesn't mean you can touch my daughter. She's my little girl," Mr. Saroyan lectured Hodgins, who jumped back immediately and stuck his hands in his jean pockets. "What are you? A protestant? Democrat?" he went on. Hodgins stared at him for a moment, then burst out in laughter. Cam elbowed him in the ribs, but he couldn't stop.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry," he gasped between laughing and held his stomach with one hand.

"Jack, stop laughing!" Cam stage whispered, but he was too far gone and completely in hysterics. Cam's aunt Ann had joined him, simply because his laughter was contagious.

"We're having dinner now. Everyone get ready to say your prayers and admit your sins," Cam's father said when Hodgins just couldn't stop. While the family gathered round the dining table again Cam pulled Jack out into the backyard.

"Take a deep breath and stop laughing," she ordered but was smiling as well.

"I just... he's treating you like you're still thirteen and I'm the new boyfriend," he said and tried to calm down.

"He's living in denial about my sisters and me, while he's encouraging my brother's to pro-create as much as possible," she giggled.

"I thought you only had one sister," he said and took deep breaths.

"No, two sisters, four brothers and they are all in there. Felicia and I are the youngest," she shrugged.

"Ah, that explains so much," he nodded and pulled her close by her waist.

"I think he'll be disappointed because he can't intimidate me. He should've met my father. He was scary," Hodgins said and shuddered. "Not to mention my mother," he added.

"So you're gonna be ok?" she asked, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Of course. I know what his little girl does when he's not around, after all," he grinned and kissed her softly. "You're ok? You're still pale," he observed.

"I'm still nauseous and it's getting on my nerves. I'm scared the migraine will come back when I stop taking the meds though," she admitted.

"Maybe you should eat a bit, something stomach friendly," he replied, stroking gently over her cheek.

"There's nothing stomach friendly around when my grandmother cooks," she grinned and pecked his lips again. "You're good to go back or are you gonna start laughing again?" she asked him.

"I think I have it under control now. Just try not to anger your dad again or I might not be held responsible for my actions," he chuckled and followed her back inside.

~*~

"So you never bet on your team?" Cam's brother Jo junior asked Hodgins a while after dinner. The guys were sitting in the living room talking sports while the women were washing the dishes in the kitchen. Hodgins had wanted to help Cam like he usually did, but it seemed like in Cam's family they had a more traditional understanding of male and female roles.

"I'm not much into sports bets, other than the twenty bucks we used to bet at the Jeffersonian," he shook his head and looked over to the kitchen door again. His gut was telling him that Cam was feeling worse now than she had when they had arrived. She was basically green in the face but no one except him seemed to notice.

"Cam was always ripping us off on ice hockey bets," her other brother Brandon said.

"You play any sports?" Cam's dad asked Hodgins. He was still far from friendly but not plain out hostile anymore, which he took as a good sign.

"I just work out regularly and go running. I don't have much time for anything else," he replied truthfully.

"Why are you even working when you have that much money? I surely wouldn't," Cam's youngest brother Matt said. He had a big mouth, a lot of kids and Hodgins had to try hard to hide the fact that he didn't like him one bit.

"I love my work," he said simply, not caring to elaborate.

"So, my Cami's your boss?" her father went on.

"Yup."

"That's so hot! If my boss was female I'd totally date her!" Matt chimed in again.

"You have four kids and a wife," Jack couldn't stop himself.

"Just joking, man," Matt laughed and the rest joined him, while Hodgins just looked disapprovingly at him. During dinner he had tried to talk first Hodgins and then Cam into giving him money for a pool at his house. Cam had declined, telling him that he should maybe pay his debts first before building a pool. Hodgins was used to people asking him for money whenever they found out who he was so he hadn't even bothered replying. He glanced at the kitchen door again, hoping that Cam would come to his rescue. She actually came through the door that moment, more like burst through it, but only to hurry upstairs. With one look he knew what was going on and was following her before the men in her family had registered his exit.

He found her hunched over the toilet spitting out the food she had consumed earlier. When he heard footsteps on the stairs he closed and locked the door behind him before he went over to her and held her hair back.

"You really have to talk to your doctor. That's not normal," he said when she was done and handed her a glass of water with some mouthwash in it.

"The blood test results should be in by Monday, I'll talk to her then," she replied after rinsing her mouth.

"You wanna go home?" he asked her when she leaned against him, burying her face in his shoulder.

"Can't. There's still the birthday cake and the singing coming up. If we leave before that I'll never hear the end of it," she replied, enjoying the way he rubbed his hands up and down her back.

"If you want to go, you give me a sign and I'll make it happen no matter what, ok?" he asked her, looking her in the eyes.

"Ok," she replied and her eyes showed the gratefulness she felt.

"Ok, then let's get out of here. Bathrooms aren't safe places anymore when it comes to us," he winked and made her laugh.

"What were you two doing in there?" Cam's dad asked as soon as they emerged.

"I caught a bug a few days ago and Jack was making sure I was ok," Cam lied without blinking.

"Are you alright? You want to lie down? Have some tea?" Cam's father asked worried and noticed the arm Hodgins had placed protectively around his daughter's shoulder.

"No, daddy, I'm alright. Just don't make me eat the cake later," she said and paled just thinking about it.

"You don't have to, honey," he replied with a small smile and a tenderness in his voice that surprised Hodgins. Together they made their way downstairs and found that the women had meanwhile joined the men in the living and dining room. Still, each group was mainly talking amongst themselves.

"Cami, everything ok?" one of Cam's uncles, whose name Hodgins couldn't remember, asked.

"Yes, great," she replied, the fake smile firmly in place.

"Come sit, my child," Aunt Anna said, but took Hodgins hand and made him sit down in the armchair she had formerly occupied, not Cam."Cam you should really pay more attention to your guest. He doesn't even have anything to drink," she went on.

"I'm good, thank you," Hodgins smiled politely, took Cam's hand again and pulled her down in his lap. She was feeling so miserable by now that she didn't even argue. She was still feeling sick and being around her family made her furious and sad at the same time. Furious because they weren't able to read her even after all these years and didn't even bother trying and sad because the only person who ever could, her mother, was dead.

"If your father castrates me after seeing us like this, I'll totally blame you," Hodgins whispered in her ear and managed to make her smile.

"I'll deny everything," she replied, leaning with her right shoulder against his chest. She saw her father walking up to them, looking annoyed.

"You still owe me an answer," he barked at Hodgins.

"About?" he replied and really had no idea what the tall man was talking about.

"Are you a protestant and a democrat?" he asked.

"No sir, catholic and a republican. I've been a member since college. And president of the 'celibacy before marriage' club," he replied and was able to keep a straight face. Cam bit her lip to keep from laughing and looked down to her shoes, not able to look at her father.

"Ever been married?" the interrogation went on.

"No, sir," he answered like he was in the military and was tempted to salute, but didn't dare to tick off the elder man even more.

"Good, good," the old man muttered, not really sure if he could believe his daughter's new boyfriend or not.

"Look what I found in the kitchen," Cam's cousin Caitlin shrieked and came out with a huge birthday cake that had so many sparklers on it, it looked like the cake would explode any second.

"Oh my," Hodgins mumbled when he saw it while the others started to sing.

"Can't tell you how many times a cake has melted or something caught fire. They'll never learn," Cam grinned.

"Maybe I should invite your relatives to the Jeffersonian next time I blow something up. Show them how it's really done," he replied and applauded with the rest when Cam's dad blew out the candles.

"Over my dead body," she replied and slapped his chest playfully.

"Cam, stop making googly eyes at the guy and let him eat his cake," Felicia complained when she thrust a plate with cake into Hodgins hand a second later.

"Charming," he said to Cam, but loud enough for Felicia to hear. "Your other sister just as nice?" he asked.

"She doesn't talk to us. She and Jo have another mother and she basically hates our guts," Cam said and stole some frosting off his plate to get a taste of it.

"Are there two people in this room who actually get along without any troubles?" he wanted to know and looked around.

"No. Everybody meddles in the issues of others which means they fight all the time. I try to keep them out of my business to break the vicious circle, but it's not easy," she said.

"Can I guess that it was your dad who freaked out Michelle?" Hodgins grinned after another moment of looking around.

"Let's just say that my "God will smite you" comment didn't come out of thin air. When I was young my mom always sent dad out bowling whenever God, meaning dad, would have been tempted to smite me," she smiled.

"Felicia doesn't look like virgin Mary either," he said, raising his eyebrows.

"Oh please, if Dad only knew half of it he would lock her up in a chastity belt for the rest of her remaining life," she replied. "You wanna get out of here and go home? Watch some TV, cuddle on the couch and kiss as much as we want?" she asked."If I'm not throwing up again..," she added as an afterthought.

"Sounds really relaxing. I feel like my cheeks will fall off any moment from all the fake smiling I've had to do," he nodded enthusiastically,

"I had to go on a cruise with half of them two years ago for Christmas. I have never wished more for an iceberg in my life," she rolled her eyes and got off of him. Together they sought out her father amongst all the people.

"Dad, Jack's gonna drive me home now. I'm still not feeling too well," she said careful not to let it slip that they would go home together.

"Aw, you're already leaving. You have to come to Friday night dinner then," he said disappointedly.

"Of course I will Dad," she nodded and hugged him briefly.

"Bye Mr. Saroyan. Thanks for having me," Hodgins said as they shook hands.

"It wasn't like we had a choice," the elder man replied and Hodgins barked out a laugh at the rude answer. He didn't know why but it amused him.

"Bye everyone, we're leaving," Cam said loudly and got the same non-response that she had got when she had come in.

"Bye," Hodgins said as well and jumped when suddenly everyone replied.

"You drive carefully and get her home safe," Mr. Saroyan told Hodgins sternly when they were already out the door, their jackets only slung over their arms so they could leave faster.

"Sure, I will. You want me to call you once I've dropped her off?" Hodgins replied sarcastically and this time it didn't slip Cam's father who raised his eyebrows.

"Bye Dad," Cam said quickly again and kissed his cheek before she led Hodgins to his car.

"Oh freedom, there you are," she sighed when she slid into the passengers' seat and closed the door behind her.

"Your place or mine?" he asked her.

"Yours, even if it's just for my own personal revenge," she grinned as they drove off.

~*~

Later that night while they were lying on his couch in the living room her cell phone rang.

"Hi Seeley," she said after checking the caller ID.

"Camille," he laughed.

"It's half past ten, why are you calling?" she asked him, not even pretending to be friendly.

"Just wanted to make sure Hodgins is still alive after meeting your dad," he said.

"Oh, he's just fine," Cam replied and looked over her shoulder to Hodgins, who was sitting behind her, while she was resting in between his legs.

"How did it go?" Booth asked curiously.

"He laughed," Cam just replied and looked at Hodgins again, raising her eyebrows.

"What?"

"Dad was on a roll again, first he threatened to ground me, then he was talking about me still being his "little girl" and finally he pulled the protestant and democrat question," she reported.

"Oh boy," Booth laughed. "Sounds like he was in top form today."

"Yeah and what did Jack do? He burst out laughing and couldn't stop," she went on.

"I don't know if he's extremely courageous or just crazier than I thought," Booth laughed.

"I wouldn't know," Cam replied with a snort.

"Can you give me the suicidal loon?" Booth asked and Cam handed Hodgins the phone, looking suspicious.

"Hey Booth," Hodgins greeted him, surprised as well, that the FBI agent wanted to talk to him.

"Hey, listen: You want to carpool tomorrow evening?" Booth asked, straight to the point.

"Aren't you gonna ride with Dr. B?" Hodgins asked.

"No, Bones is riding with Hacker. At least that's what she implied yesterday," he replied and Hodgins felt sorry for him.

"Oh, ok. If you want you can ride with us. Though, I don't think we'll stay too long. Cam's still not feeling well," Hodgins said, not aware that he'd gotten himself into trouble.

"I'm fine," Cam said immediately and ripped the phone out of Jack's hands. "I'm fine, Seeley," she repeated into the speaker. She sat up and untangled from Hodgins, making him feel cold from the sudden space between them.

"What's wrong Camille? And don't you dare lie to me," Booth said after a moment in which he contemplated if he should just let it slide or not.

"It's just my migraine is back and my stomach isn't handling the medication too well," she told him half the truth and hoped he would take it and stop asking questions.

"Then go to a doctor and let them give you something else," Booth advised.

"Oh really? Genius idea, too bad stupid me didn't think of that before," came the sarcastic reply.

"Ok, sorry, forget I ever said anything," Booth got defensive.

"You wanted anything else other than asking Hodgins about our plans for tomorrow evening? You could have just asked me. Just because he's a guy doesn't mean he gets to decide who is riding with us," she started ranting.

"Give me that phone," Hodgins interfered and took the phone from her again, not without some struggle. "Sorry Booth, but she's a bit crazy at the moment and I advise you to hang up, duck and run. I would do the same if I could. See you tomorrow," he told the agent and hung up before Cam could get her hands on the cell phone again.

"Who do you think you are taking the phone away from me?" Cam yelled at him as soon as he had hung up. Her temper was flaring again and as sad as it was, he had gotten used to it these last few days.

"Just… stop talking right now," he yelled back, for once having enough. It was late, he had dealt with her and her family and he was simply too exhausted. He couldn't take any more that day. "Can't you see that we're stuck in this circle where you keep freaking out and yelling at me, only to come back and apologize later? I know you're angry and I know the meds make you bitchy, but then please, go upstairs and sleep, hit the wall, destroy the bathroom, go swimming or running... do anything but yell at me! Because right this moment, I can't take it," he said forcefully and gesticulated wildly with his arms. When he saw her eyes welling up with tears he immediately felt sorry again, but he knew that acting differently wouldn't have been possible. "Or you can come here, lie back down with me and watch the rest of the movie. Your choice," he said and leaned back against the cushion of the couch. He was surprised when she lay back down between his legs, resting her head against his chest without another word. Slowly the tension drained from their bodies and the anger was replaced by fatigue.

~*~

After a relatively short attendance and a lot of alcohol consumed the waves had smoothed out and they were both in a better mood on Monday morning, Cam's nausea having diminished to a queasy feeling. It was Hodgins who woke them up early this Monday morning, when he twisted and turned in bed before he shot up and nearly gave her a heart attack.

"You had a nightmare?" she asked and turned over to look at him, where he sat on his side of the bed.

"No. My Melolontha Melolontha," he said excitedly, a large smile on his face.

"Come again," she said and tried to rub the sleep from her eyes.

"I think my Melolontha Melolontha might hatch today. I can feel it," he grinned.

"You're waking me up at...5:15 a.m. because some bugs might hatch? Ever thought about therapy?!" she grumbled and went to lie down again.

"No, come on! We get up now, drive to the Institute to check on my bugs, as you call them, and then I'll take you out for breakfast," he begged. "You're getting up in half an hour anyway," he added.

"Ok, fine, but you owe me the biggest and most delicious breakfast ever," she grumbled and sat up as well.

"Thank you, love you," he said happily, kissed her cheek and was off to the shower a second later.

"Should have yelled at him some more Saturday night," she muttered to herself, before she swung her legs out of bed.

After they had both showered and got dressed they drove to the Institute mainly in silence. Cam was still half asleep and Hodgins was bouncing in his seat with excitement.

"If they haven't hatched I'll make sure they never will," she said darkly when they got out of the car in the underground parking garage.

"You wouldn't kill those cute, little baby Melolonthas?!" he gasped teasingly and slung one arm around her shoulder.

"What's that smell?" she asked him when they stepped out of the elevator.

"What smell?" he wanted to know, not yet having caught on.

"That smell. It smells like..." she said and stopped when they rounded the corner.

"A dead body," he finished her sentence seeing a body bag on a gurney surrounded by little girls.

"Who are you?" she turned to the little girls in green uniforms.

"We're the Woodchucks," one of them replied.

"We found a dead body and brought it here," another said.

"You found a dead body and _brought_ it here?" Hodgins couldn't believe it.

"Yes, we also have soil and water samples and digital photographs," they nodded. "And who are you?" a girl wanted to know.

"I'm Dr. Camille Saroyan, head of the forensic department and this is Dr. Hodgins, our entomologist, botanist and geologist," Cam introduced them.

"Oh we thought Dr. Brennan would be here," a blonde girl admitted disappointedly.

"No, Dr. Brennan's not in yet, we're the first," Cam told her.

"I take the water and soil samples and you take the body?" Hodgins asked her, preparing for a first inspection.

"Yup, we meet on the platform and set it up for Dr. Brennan and Wendell," Cam nodded.

"Oh, he's our intern on the case?" Hodgins grinned and helped her push the gurney inside and unlock the doors with their cards. They were just about to head to the autopsy room and the laboratory when one of the girls cleared her throat. They had completely forgotten about the kids for a moment.

"What about us?" the girl asked.

"You wait here and we'll be back in half an hour. By then Dr. Brennan will be in as well and you can all meet her." Cheers of joy echoed through the lab and the two professionals exchanged a look of disbelief before they went to do their jobs.

~*~

"Ok now, this is Dr. Temperance Brennan," Hodgins introduced the forensic anthropologist an hour later. The girls were lined up in front of the platform where he and Cam had placed the body. They all applauded.

"Why are they applauding?" Brennan wanted to know and climbed the stairs.

"Apparently you're their role model," Cam grinned and couldn't believe her own words.

"I wanna know why they aren't all freaked out and getting trauma counseling," Hodgins asked and looked at Cam.

"Because they're the type of children who idolize Dr. Brennan," she replied amused and with raised eyebrows.

"So they were eco-camping on the banks of the Savage river," Hodgins reported what he had learned.

"These remains are completely saturated," Cam went on.

"The girls fished the body out of the river and brought it to us," Hodgins informed Brennan.

"How?" she wanted to know.

"In our woodchuck bus," one of the girls said.

"Very impressive," Cam said approvingly and leaned a bit forward so she could look at the girls.

"I disagree. Those woodchucks disturbed a federal crime scene. The area should have been secured, samples taken," Brennan interjected.

"Yeah, they did all that. Uh, water samples from the river where the body was found," Hodgins showed her the samples.

"Digital photographs of the entire area," another girl said proudly.

"Plants, insects, soil samples tagged with GPS coordinates. Now I know my soil samples and let me tell you something: These ladies, they are pros," Hodgins said impressed.

"Perhaps you should throw them a bone," Cam said to Brennan. "Not literally, metaphorically. After all they were very professional," she added, already fearing the worst when she thought about how literal Brennan could be.

"Attention, woodchucks. You were thorough and fastidious in your treatment of the body and crime scene," Brennan addressed them and the girls applauded again. "But, next time, please leave the evidence where you found it and let the experienced professionals do their job," she went on and was greeted with booing from the girls.

"But we helped," a girl protested loudly.

"You're mean," another one added.

"Their moods are capricious," Brennan said, turning back to her colleagues.

"You couldn't just let them have that one, let it go by," Cam asked, still amused.

"Then they never learn," Brennan disagreed and Hodgins and Cam exchanged an amused look. She would never change.

~*~

After Cam had taken another look at the body and had taken samples as well, she sent off Wendell with Hodgins to look for the missing fingers. Even though the "boys" believed the fingers had been transformed into talons, she was more convinced that they had just simply fallen off in the water.

They were back later that afternoon and Hodgins had busied himself with the work he had to do in his lab. He was surprised when Angela kept stopping by. He knew she wanted something, but he wasn't sure yet what exactly it was she wanted.

"Five months and 14 days I have been celibate," she finally spit out when he just kept looking through his microscope, ignoring her circling his lab on purpose.

"Angela, that is very impressive," he said honestly and looked up at her.

"Thank you," she replied and came round his desk to stand beside him while he tried to go back to work. "Sweets was right, taking sex out of that equation made me relate to people in a totally different way," she said.

"Yeah, once you got past the mega horny stage," he replied and kept working.

"The point is, that my six months is almost up. So...," she said without looking at him and then smiled directly at him.

"No," he replied with a smile and cocked his head to the side for a second.

"No what?" she asked flirty and tried to play innocent.

"I'm not gonna be the one that breaks your fast," he smiled.

"I... I wasn't asking," she laughed it off. "In fact, you should know that I was considering going for a year," she went on, the lying more obvious than ever. He could only laugh, finding the situation more than funny.

"It's definitely a chicken parasite we found in the victim's esophagus," he tried to get back to work related topics, but couldn't wipe the smile off his face.

"I wasn't asking, Jack," she said again, now smiling as well. "I was just... keeping you in the loop," she added while she walked out of his lab.

"Ok," he nodded, shook his head and let out a deep breath when she left. If he didn't know Angela so well, he might have been offended that she was offering sex while he was in a relationship. However he knew that Angela was thinking about whom she wanted to sleep with and who she could trust to break her fast and he had just been the first guy to cross her mind, so she had told him what was on her mind. She wouldn't feel rejected now that he declined, just as she wouldn't have stopped him if he had agreed. For her sleeping with someone else when you were in a relationship was a sign that the relationship was over anyway and therefore it was no big deal. His and Cam's relationship was far from over, although she was driving him up a wall lately with her mood swings. He would make a fat red cross in the calendar when this day was over; once she had her blood results and was going to make another appointment so she would get other meds, some that made her less moody and sick.

~*~

"The chicken man had his neck wrung?" Hodgins asked as he plopped down on her couch.

"I couldn't believe it either. And they cut his fingertips off," she nodded and sat down beside him, bringing the phone with her.

"Oh man, I can't imagine ordering some chicken nuggets and finding fingers in there. That would surely put a damper on my appetite," he laughed and lay down, letting his feet dangle over the edge of the couch.

"You're talking about disgusting things from work again?" Michelle asked when she entered the living-room.

"Just discussing things we couldn't before because I was trying to reach my doctor's office," Cam nodded.

"For other meds?" Michelle asked and sat down on the recliner.

"Yup, and for some test results," Cam nodded. She still hadn't told Michelle about her kidney problems and she still didn't want to worry her. So when the teen wrinkled her forehead and opened her mouth to ask more questions Cam held up a hand. "Hold on, let me try again first," she said and listened to the ringing. The line seemed free this time.

"Hi, this is Camille Saroyan. I'm calling for my lab results," she said when a nurse picked up. "Hi Rita, it's me Cam. I'm calling about my results," she repeated when she was connected to the doctor. Hodgins rolled his eyes and Michelle grinned. "Oh really? Why? Something wrong?" Cam asked next and wrinkled her forehead but didn't really seem worried. "Okay," Cam said next, dragging out the word. The smile was gone from her face now which got Hodgins and Michelle's attention and both looked curiously at her. "Mmmmh, that's a relief. And the hormonal...ok. How high was it?" Cam went on, her eyes large with fear. Or was it panic? Hodgins sat up. He wasn't hearing much, but what he heard didn't sound good. "That means... Yes, I know, I will. Bye Rita," Cam said, hung up and let the phone drop on the table before she leaned her elbows against her knees and buried her face in her hands for a second, trying to somehow keep her composure.

"Cam?" Michelle asked, the worry clear in her voice.

"Baby, what's wrong?" Hodgins said in the same tone of voice and placed a hand on her back.

"There was an anomaly in my blood test," she said and her voice cracked. She cleared her voice, then went on, staring at the table. "Rita did some other tests to be sure. Tumor markers came back negative and so did the hormonal tests," she said.

"That's good, right?" Michelle asked unsure. It sounded good at least. Cam turned her head and looked at Hodgins, her eyes boring into his.

"My HCG level is at 419," she told him. It took a moment until it sunk in but then he froze and his eyes widened, his reaction showing her that he had understood. She buried her face in her hands again, feeling like she had been run over by a truck.

"Hello, you're freaking me out here. Can anybody tell me what's going on!" Michelle demanded.

"It means that Cam is pregnant," Hodgins replied slowly, no less stunned than his girlfriend.

"Really? I'm gonna be a big sister? That is so epic!" Michelle's smile got wider and wider before she jumped up and hugged Hodgins, who was sitting closest to her. When she wanted to hug Cam she stopped, because her legal guardian still hadn't looked up. Unsure, she looked at Hodgins. He gave her hand a squeeze and shook his head slightly. "Can you give us a moment?" he asked her then.

"Sure," Michelle replied quietly, not really understanding why Cam wasn't doing a happy dance in the living room.

When she was gone and the door had closed behind her Hodgins reached over and pulled Cam against him. She wasn't crying, but obviously in shock.

"The nausea, the mood swings... I should have known," she said quietly, without looking up.

"We thought it was from the medication. And 419 means that it's still pretty early, right?" he asked, not so sure. Hormone levels weren't something he dealt with on a daily basis.

"First month," she nodded and then looked up. "What are we gonna do?" she asked him, her eyes still wide with shock.

"I guess if everything goes as it should we'll have a baby in nine months," he shrugged helplessly.

"You want me to keep it?" she asked and sounded surprised.

"You don't wanna keep it?" he asked back.

"I asked you first," she said stubbornly. He thought about it for a moment before he spoke.

"Yes, I want you to have the baby, but the question is what do you want," he asked her again, because judging by her reaction he couldn't really tell what she was thinking.

"I... I don't know," she admitted finally. "I don't know what I want."

"Ok. You know now what I want, you think about what you want and once you've come to a result you tell me. I'll be right here, no matter what you decide," he replied and took her hand in his.

"You wouldn't be angry or hurt if I didn't have it?" she said surprised.

"Maybe I would be for a while, I don't know. But we hadn't really planed on having a kid already so I can understand if you think it's too soon," he was being as honest as always while trying to be understanding.

"Looks like fate took that decision out of our hands," she said and leaned back against the back rest of the couch and brought one leg up, tucked her foot under her thigh. "I just don't get how this happened. Four weeks pregnant means this happened about two weeks ago. I was on the pill the whole time," she sighed.

"Guess Palm Beach was stronger," he couldn't help but grin.

"Also, I shouldn't be this moody yet. Maybe the HCG is just low and it happened earlier?" she wondered.

"Does it really matter now when exactly it happened? We'll find out soon enough when you have the Ob/GYN appointment," he replied with another shrug.

"I guess," she agreed and was silent another moment. "Will you be there if I have the baby? I mean, not only during the pregnancy, but for the baby, no matter what. That's a big responsibility. One that lasts for the rest of your life," she spoke out loud what she was thinking about.

"I'd always be there, always. I always promised myself that I would do it better than my parents and that means being there for your child's birthdays, injuries, colds, first dates and holiday crafts nights at school," he nodded and smiled.

"I hate crafts night," she smiled back and their eyes met. "I don't understand why you have to spend hours at school making ornaments out of paper that you could easily buy in a minute at any store. Total waste of time."

"So we're good?" he asked, still wondering what this new development would mean for their relationship.

"We're good," she nodded. "You want to come to the Ob/GYN or you just need me to give you a ballpark afterwards?"

"I want to come," he said immediately. "You think there'll be an ultrasound already?" he sounded excited.

"Most likely," she replied and was surprised when he kissed her with a happy sigh.

"This is gonna be so great," he grinned when he pulled back.

"But can we keep it between us for at least two more months? Until we know everything's gonna be ok?" she requested.

"Sure," he said and pulled her against him, leaning against the couch. He slid one hand under her red pullover and placed it on her flat stomach. "I can't believe there's a baby in there," he admitted in wonder.

"More like an accumulation of cells," she grinned.

"I don't care," he smiled brightly and rubbed his hand over her skin; With the other he cupped her face and kissed her hungrily.

"And what's the verdict? We're having a baby or not?" Michelle asked as she opened her door just a bit.

"As if you didn't listen to every word we said," Cam rolled her eyes but smiled.

"You were talking too quietly. Speak up next time," Michelle grinned cheekily and sat down on Cam's other side.

"Yes, we're having a baby," Cam nodded then, smiling at Jack and placing one arm around Michelle's shoulder. He grinned back, understanding that she had made her decision sooner than he had thought.

~*~

The next morning the first thing Cam had done was call her gynecologist for an appointment and then she went to work. She remembered that she had encouraged Wendell and Angela the night before to work together so she went to check on them.

Hodgins had teased her this morning when she had decided to wear a suit jacket over her shirt. She knew it was still too warm for this, but the thought that she could be showing freaked her out more than anything else. Being surrounded by scientists who would pick up immediately if anything changed in her body she was aware that it was only a matter of time until Brennan would say something about pubic bone extension and bust her. For now she didn't want her little secret out at the lab yet and she had even sent Hodgins back to his own lab when he had been hovering by her desk, his hand finding its new favorite place on her belly all the time.

When she reached the bone room Angela and Wendell immediately explained what they had done and how they had worked together. At first she had complimented them on their good work, but then something caught her eyes. It was a look that passed between them, then another. She paid attention to it and could have slapped herself the next second. She knew those looks and she knew what they meant. Obviously Angela had ended her celibacy kick and had found someone to end it with. The next moment Hodgins just had to enter and tell them about something he had found. Could the situation get any more uncomfortable? Here she was, thinking that she hiding her pregnancy was the biggest thing going on in the lab, but compared to Angela and Wendell getting it on she felt it paled a bit.

"There's evidence of streaming nuclei in the bone cells," Hodgins started while looking at his computer screen, showing them what he had found.

"That was my job to find," Wendell admitted guiltily.

"It's ok, kid, around here we step in for each other as needed," Hodgins replied good heartedly, unaware that he made Cam flinch and the other two look even more freaked out than they already were.

"What?" Angela asked shocked, obviously fearing just as much as Cam that Hodgins would somehow find out.

"Mmh?" Hodgins made when he turned around, the small smile never leaving his face. It was firmly in place ever since he'd woken up this morning.

"Oh, oh, you mean work," Angela understood.

"Yeah, what did you mean?" he asked her, now looking strangely at her.

"Work. I'm,... I'm agreeing it's work," Angela stuttered. Cam had crossed her arms under her chest and looked at her colleague with a mixture of disapproval and disgust. She could already tell how this situation would play out. Either she would tell Jack or he would find out one day. He would be hurt, she knew, feeling betrayed by Angela's choice and Cam could understand that. She wished the artist would just tell him. She had enough on her plate already with the unexpected pregnancy; she didn't need more trouble from Jack's closest friends betraying him. It wasn't that she minded so much that Angela was dating a co-worker, or even that it was Wendell. However by their weird behavior she could tell that it would be all awkward and secretive and they would make a big deal out of it. For that reason she wished that Angela had chosen someone else to break her celibacy with."Can we move on?" Angela asked when everyone just stared disbelievingly at her.

"So, we have electricity?" Cam asked to get back to work.

"Who does?" Angela asked, just as alarmed as before.

"Streaming nuclei suggests voltage," Cam told her like she would speak to a ten year old, annoyed with her denseness.

"Oh, I... I know," Angela stuttered again and Cam wished she could slap her, just once, really hard up the back of her head.

"Oh, a self-cauterizing blade?" Wendell said, obviously more relaxed than Angela.

"There's gotta be something like that in a place that kills thousands of chickens every day," Hodgins wondered while Wendell and Angela exchanged meaningful looks under the watchful eyes of their boss. "There we go. Ah, this might narrow things down. He had beak and feather disease virus," Hodgins went on, totally oblivious to what was going on behind his back, literally.

"He had beak and feather disease in his thumb?" Wendell checked.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that maybe what we're looking for is a self cauterizing instrument that cuts beaks and feathers," Cam added, hoping to stay on topic for a while.

"Wait a minute, the video!" Angela said, remembering the video she had seen of the woman cutting the beaks of the chicken.

"Ok, go call Booth," Cam told her, because she only had a slight idea what Angela was talking about. Also, she was scared that Booth would start talking about her health issues while Brennan was nearby and she would get suspicious.

"I'll, uhm, be in the boneroom," Wendell said and left the room, actually hurrying after Angela.

"Did Angela seem only weird to me?" Hodgins asked when they were gone.

"No, something was... weird," Cam agreed without telling him what she thought she knew. She hadn't confronted Angela or Wendell yet and there was still the slight chance that she was imagining things and there was another explanation.

"How are you doing?" he asked then, changing the topic.

"I'm surprisingly well today. No morning sickness so far," she said dropping her voice. "But you were right, I should have worn different shoes, because these are killing me," she said, looking down at the incredibly high stilettos.

"You wouldn't listen when I told you that wearing stilettos wouldn't make people less suspicious. No one knows," he grinned at her.

"Good. The lab is a personal minefield as it is," she muttered when he pulled her close.

"What?" he asked confused.

"Nothing," she shook her head and pecked his lips, noticing how his hand was once again placed on her belly between them.

**TBC**


	8. Chapter 8

Thanks again to Gianna for beta reading!

* * *

**Chapter 8: Leprechauns and Insomnia**

"Hey babes, are we going with the others to the Founding Fathers? Haven't been in a while," Hodgins asked when he entered Cam's office. She was sitting at her desk doing paperwork, still dressed in her grey dress.

"Babes? Do I look like Hydra now?" she asked him and raised one eyebrow.

"Nah, but you know..." he grinned and walked up behind her and leaned down so he could whisper in her ear. "Have to ask 'baby' as well. Maybe she doesn't want us to go and sends you another wave of nausea."

"Right," she grinned and shook her head. "It's still not real to me," she admitted.

"Wait until the appointment, then it'll all be very real," he was still grinning.

"If you say so," she smiled back and didn't object when he placed his hands on the arm rest of her chair and kissed her lips. She slung her arms around his neck and kept him close.

"Hey," Booth cleared his throat, "you two coming?" he wanted to know. Hodgins looked expectantly at Cam.

"Yeah, we're coming," she nodded, knowing how eager he was to spend some time out with their friends.

"Wendell and Angela went ahead," Booth informed them as they made their way over to the bar.

"They are coming as well?" Cam asked none too happy.

"Yes, why?" Booth asked, having picked up on her tone.

"Something wrong?" Hodgins asked as well, Brennan the only one oblivious.

"Nah, not really. It's just that..." Cam started but stopped when she looked at Hodgins. She couldn't tell him as long as she wasn't 100% sure that she was right. If she told him and it wasn't true he would most likely be angry with her for spreading rumors. "Nothing. Forget it," she said finally. Booth caught her eyes and she knew that he had picked up on the fact that something was wrong. However he seemed to have something else on his mind so he dropped it.

They found Angela and Wendell sitting at the bar and Hodgins went over to greet them. Cam made a face when he picked the seats next to them, while Booth and Brennan stayed on the other side of the counter.

"What do you want to drink?" the barkeeper asked them.

"A gin tonic," Hodgins replied.

"Same for me," Cam said.

"It's real," Hodgins whispered so that the other two wouldn't hear.

"Damn… ok, uhm, I take that back. Make that a water on the rocks," Cam called out to the man behind the bar.

"No problem Miss," he grinned.

"Water? I thought your migraine was better?" Angela asked when she heard the change of order.

"It is, but I'm the designated driver for the evening. I forgot for a second," Cam lied. Jack took her hand and gave it a squeeze.

"You're still going with the 'zero alcohol when driving' rule?" Wendell laughed.

"Absolutely. I don't want to end up on my own autopsy table because I couldn't keep my hands off the booze," Cam replied with a forced smile.

"No, we don't want that," Hodgins grinned and kissed her cheek. When she smiled for real he close the short distance and kissed her. Since they had found out about her pregnancy he just couldn't get enough of her and couldn't stop touching her. At night he had dreamed about her, seeing them with their child and another on the way. The dream had made him so happy that he had woken up with a large smile on his face and proceeded to wake her up with kisses, simply because he needed her to tell him that he hadn't just dreamed up the evening before.

When they broke the kiss their drinks were standing in front of them and Angela grinned over at them.

"Why are they still watching us? They've known for a while now," Cam grumbled and picked up her glass.

"They don't see us acting like a couple that often," he shrugged and sipped on his drink.

"Something is up with Booth and Brennan," Cam observed when she looked over to the other side of the counter and found them talking.

"They don't look like they are fighting," he replied.

"Brennan had an argument with Angela about the piglet she wants to save," Cam told him the little she knew.

"What piglet?" he asked.

"She didn't ask you? Angela needs money to save a piglet from being slaughtered. She asked people in the lab for money and Brennan refused to give her anything," she said.

"I would have given her the money," Hodgins shrugged, "but she didn't ask me, so I guess I can't help her."

"Anyway, after Brennan didn't show any sympathy Angela questioned their whole friendship," she let him know.

"Ouch! Really?" he asked, surprised.

"Mmh, they're not even talking anymore. That's what's wrong with Brennan. I have no idea about Booth though," Cam explained.

"Me either," he said and moved closer to Cam when someone needed to pass. "Oh look, Brennan is coming over. And what she has in her hands looks suspiciously like a check," he grinned.

"Good, then at least that conflict is solved. I really don't feel like dealing with any," she sighed and leaned her cheek against his shoulder.

"Me either. I'm too happy to deal with conflicts," he smiled.

"I'm happy that you're happy," she smiled back.

"You're not happy?" he asked. He trapped her between the counter and his body, having moved his stool slightly.

"I'm still in shock to be honest," she replied, placing a hand on his cheek. "But I'm sure I'll get there once I actually register it."

"I love you so much," he whispered against her lips and kissed her again.

"Hey, you two, knock it off or I'll have to arrest you for indecent behavior," Booth said a minute later when they were still kissing each other tenderly right there at the bar. The kiss was so intimate that everyone looking at the two of them felt like an intruder.

"That was barely arrest worthy," Hodgins rolled his eyes and stayed close to her.

"You're ok?" Cam asked the agent and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Sure, why wouldn't I be?" he grinned back and she realized that whatever had troubled him was gone now. "How about another round of drinks?" he asked then.

"Sure, just make it something alcohol free for me. I have to drive," Cam repeated her lie and let a soft moan slip when Hodgins surprised her by kissing her again just a second after she had closed her mouth.

~*~

The next morning Cam was confronted with another dead body and the presence of Mr. Nigel-Murray.

"Leprechauns are thought to explode if you touch them with a broom handle," the intern started his usual round of useless facts.

" A. These remains show no signs of being exploded, and B. … I think you can guess B.," she told him, trying to keep her good humor.

"There are no such things as leprechauns," he concluded.

"This is good; we're developing a short hand," she joked relieved. There seemed to be hope after all.

The large skull and torso, combined with short limbs and evidence of hypotonia points to achondroplasia," he said and went back to work.

"Dwarfism," she nodded.

"Indeed," he agreed just as Hodgins appeared on the screen. He had been sent to the crime scene first thing that morning because there was more possible evidence than he could sift through in his whole life.

"Think I know why our victim's bones are green. The soil is lousy with iron oxides. That combined with the acidic ground water turned the calcium in the bones green," he started with a positive.

"How long would that take?" she asked him, knowing they could find the possible time of death that way.

"Depends. How far down in the bone does the green color extend?" he asked back.

"Two to three millimeters," the intern provided.

"I'm gonna go with two to five months," Hodgins replied, unable to narrow it down further without more analysis.

"So, we have time of death, if not cause," Cam said, content for now with what they had.

"Most of the abrasions to these bones were caused very recently," Vincent said when he took another look on the bones.

"Well, a car fell on the remains last night, that's gonna be a factor," she told him and tried to keep herself from rolling her eyes at him.

"The question is how did our leprechaun end up buried twenty feet under the street… wearing only his knickers?" the English dud asked and held up the green piece of clothing.

"Most likely scenario is that he was murdered, and tossed in a storm drain, service tunnel, or sewer," she tried to be pragmatic.

"A sixty percent subluxation between the scapula and the humerus indicates that his right shoulder was dislocated," he went on with the facts that were relevant.

"Congruent with having been dragged?" Cam wanted to know.

"As a literal dead weight, yes," he replied and couldn't hide his slight amusement.

~*~

"Ready to go?" Cam asked Hodgins when she hurried into his lab around noon. She had scheduled her doctor's appointment for their break so he could come.

"Sure, I'll just sift through the rest of this later," he said and literally jumped off of his chair.

"If this was a musical you would burst into song any second," she laughed about his excitement.

"I feel like singing and dancing so it might happen," he laughed and grabbed the car keys.

"Hey, wait a second," she said when he kept bouncing through his lab, getting everything he needed.

"Mmh?" he asked curiously when she placed her hands on his shoulder to stop him.

"Jack, I know you're excited about this, but you know that the HCG level suggested that it's still really early. A lot can happen at that stage and I don't want you to get your hopes up and then... something happens," she said looking around, not sure they were actually really alone," and then you're devastated. Ok?" she asked him and he actually sobered.

"You're right," he agreed before he started smiling again. "I just... I'm just so happy and I can't help it," he shrugged then.

"Ok, then let's go or we'll be late," she shook her head with an amused smile.

"You think we'll see... it and hear it?" he asked as cryptically as possible as they walked out.

"Most likely," she nodded and his thousand watt smile was back.

~*~

"So, I have your blood results here and it looks like you're really pregnant. The quick test agrees," her gynecologist said after checking the results. They just looked at each other and smiled. "I suggest we do the ultra sound right now, so I can tell you how far along you really are and then we'll see about your kidney medication," the doctor went on.

"I just stopped taking them for now. The ones I took were strictly forbidden during pregnancy," Cam nodded and lay down on the gurney.

"Dr. Hodgins, you want to sit down on the other side so you can see as well?" the woman asked him.

"Sure," he nodded and hurried to Cam's side.

"I don't think I need to point out that this is going to be cold," the gynecologist grinned at Cam when she had unbuttoned her dress. She laughed and shook her head.

"There are some things I still remember from my time at the hospital. My 'patients' now can't complain anymore."

The doctor travelled with the ultrasound device over Cam's stomach again and again, taking pictures without saying anything. Her face wasn't giving anything away and it was getting on Hodgins nerves, because he wanted to know what was going on. He couldn't even see the monitor and Cam seemed not too content either. He had pictured this differently, more like in the movies, where the doctor explains "And here's the head and here are the feet", but none of this happened for a while.

"Cam," the gynecologist finally said and turned the monitor around so Cam could look at it. "Do you see this," she asked her and pointed to a point on the screen. All Hodgins could see was some blurry black and white picture with some grey stuff on it which he could only guess was Cam's uterus. He couldn't see anything though that resembled a baby.

"Oh shit," Cam said, her eyes widening. She leaned on her elbows and squinted at the screen, looking more and more freaked out.

"What? Twins?" Hodgins asked, not knowing what was going on. It was the only explanation he could come up with. Cam had been freaked out about one baby and he could only guess that she would be horrified by two or more. And horrified described the look on her face best.

"No, the pregnancy implanted itself in the ampullary section of the fallopian tube," the gynecologist explained to him and showed him on the screen.

"That's not good, is it?" he asked, now having a very bad feeling. He didn't know what it meant, but the way she said it suggested that it was anything but good.

"No, it's not good at all. Commonly it's referred to as an 'ectopic pregnancy'," she let him know before she turned to Cam. "You're about 7 weeks along. Are you having pains already?" she asked Cam.

"No, not so far. Only light bleeding," Cam replied truthfully, slowly calming down.

"We need to terminate this pregnancy as soon as possible before something happens," the doctor said and switched off the ultra sound device and handed Cam some paper towel.

"Terminate? What could happen?" Hodgins asked worried.

"If we're lucky the tube will abort the fetus. Which means that if you get any heavier bleeding I want you here immediately, no waiting, not even for a minute," she said to Cam who nodded. "If we're not as lucky the pregnancy might cause internal bleeding or the tube to rupture," she said and even Hodgins knew that both of these things were life-threatening. "I don't want this to happen, so we'll have the surgery really soon. Today is Wednesday... Friday?" she asked Cam.

"Friday's good, that way I can rest over the weekend and go back to work on Monday," she nodded.

"You won't go to work on Monday. You'll stay in the hospital for at least 4 days. This is not a normal abortion, Cam, you know that. It's a full surgery with full narcosis," she insisted.

"I know," Cam admitted quietly.

"I'll let you go home now. Any pain, bleeding... anything strange and you come back. You have my emergency number. Don't hesitate to call," the doctor emphasized.

"We won't," Hodgins answered for the both of them.

"Ok, then take it easy and I'll see you on Friday at the hospital. I'll call you tomorrow about the exact time," she said and shook their hands.

The drive back to the Institute was quiet and Hodgins had trouble concentrating on the road. Days ago he had been over the moon about becoming a father and now he felt not only sad over the loss of the baby but worried for the life of the woman he loved. He wasn't hungry anymore so he drove them straight back at the lab, not stopping on the way.

He parked the car on auto-pilot, opened the door and stepped out into the dimly lit parking garage.

"Hey," Cam said softly and placed a hand on his back when she walked up to him after she got out of the car as well. Slowly he turned around to her. "It's gonna be ok. I'm gonna be fine," she told him and hugged him to her.

"You will be, I'll make sure of that," he promised her and hugged her as hard as he could without crushing her.

"I won't let you hover over me. Nothing bad happened for 7 weeks, so these two days won't change anything. Before the tube ruptures women are in extreme pain for a long time, so don't worry," she tried to allay his fears.

"I just need to know you're ok. You'll have to deal with it for the next few weeks," he warned her, knowing that it would be impossible for him not to constantly check on her.

"Oh boy... then why don't we get something to eat, I'm hungry," she grinned when she pulled back.

"Really?" he asked surprised, because his stomach was so twisted he knew he couldn't eat a thing.

"Really," she nodded and seemed to be much cooler about this than him.

"Ok, if you're hungry," he nodded and wrapped an arm around her shoulder as they walked to the elevators. This morning he had made jokes about her eating for two now and how she would gain weight no matter how much she ran every morning. The memory of the conversation brought tears to his eyes which he blinked away before she could see them. She had warned him only an hour ago that something could go wrong and now it had. Had she known? Somewhere deep inside, like an instinct or a sixth sense? Maybe subconsciously she had felt that something wasn't right and that's why she had had troubles wrapping her head around the fact that she was pregnant.

"Jack? You're coming?" she asked him and he snapped out of his thoughts and looked up. She stood inside the elevator already, waiting for him to join her.

"Sure," he muttered and stepped inside. He hadn't even felt it when she had stepped out of his arms.

~*~

After lunch Cam tried to work as normal as possible. She had been freaked out by the thought of being pregnant and now she was just as freaked out knowing that she had to have surgery. She couldn't say that she felt sad about the loss of the baby, because for her it had been an abstract concept up until this very moment. She hadn't seen any picture of the baby on screen and she hadn't heard heartbeats. Nothing to make it real to her. For all she knew she was getting surgery to get something corrected that was making her sick.

However she tried paying attention to signs that would indicate that something was wrong, bleeding, a pain. Maybe she concentrated too much, because sometimes she thought she felt something, but then she realized it had just been her imagination. She was driving herself crazy and as hard as it sounded, she would be glad when Friday came and she could just get this over with.

What she worried about was Jack. She knew that he had been over the moon happy when he thought they were having a baby. He had been touching her constantly and now that there wouldn't be a baby he hadn't even realized when she stepped away from him. He had this empty look in his eyes that hurt her more than anything. His eyes only became lively when he worried about her. She wished she hadn't told him about the blood results and he had never got his hopes up. That way she could have had surgery and he would have never known. Yes, he might have been angry afterwards, but she could just say she was having a cyst removed. That wasn't an option anymore though, and she had to deal with his sadness and his worry as well as her own emotions.

With a sigh she decided that until Friday she would push the subject as far from her mind as she could. If she experienced any pain before she would face it then. She decided that she should check on Hodgins, seeing how he was doing. She found him out in the lab, back at analyzing what he had found in the pit. She followed him into his room.

"I could spend the rest of my life analyzing the contents of that sinkhole," he grumped when he saw her, his good mood from the morning completely gone. He looked like he could use a hug, but she knew that it wouldn't really help. Maybe it would even make it worse. Ever since they had stepped in the elevator he hadn't touched her anymore, he hadn't even taken her hand in the diner. She tried not to be offended by it and told herself that it was just his way of dealing with the loss of the baby he had obviously already cared for. Still, it stung.

"Yeah, let's not do that. Start with the coins," she replied and pointed to a metal bucket.

"Right, well uh, Brennan found a Chinese panda right beside the body. Now within three meters, I found four Krugerrands, a French Rooster franc, a gold Indian Head and a Canadian Maple Leaf," he told her and sounded annoyed. Usually when he found something which he could identify he was hyper and excited- not today.

"Worth a lot?" she asked him, her arms still protectively crossed in front of her chest. When Hodgins' assistant entered she stepped to the side slightly so she could pass another test to Hodgins. He signed while he went on.

"Oh, the rooster alone –- hey, thank you Sandy – was worth about four hundred bucks," he told Cam.

"Are any of these coins traceable?" she went on in her usual way, asking questions that could maybe help them.

"No, they're all common gold coins. There's a hefty market in it for people who are afraid the economy will crash, but it's not like they carry serial numbers," he informed her and sat down.

"What about the gun?" she asked and scratched her wrist nervously.

"It's a twenty two caliber rougar mark three, rusted beyond all belief. It's loaded, and unfired. It could belong to our victim, or it could've been tossed in the sewer twenty years ago," his annoyance seemed to rise. During the last weeks she had been the one lashing out- due to her hormones and now it seemed he could do the same any second due to his ... loss. She just knew she couldn't take it.

"Let me know if you find something special," she replied and tried to sound as upbeat as possible, even managing a one sided smile while she left. Hodgins stayed back with his soil samples, coins and the gun and wished he could dig himself into a hole in the sand, throw the coins against the wall and shoot someone with the gun. It just wasn't fair. Why? He kept asking himself. Why did this have to happen? Why couldn't they just be lucky and have that baby, get married and be a family? He placed the coin back on the table and stared at it. Maybe they could try again once Cam has healed. Now they first had to go through surgery and he prayed to every god he knew that nothing would happen to Cam. He couldn't lose her as well.

~*~

While Cam wasn't glad that she had to deal with Vincent Nigel-Murray alone all day she was relieved that Hodgins would be out in the pit, looking for more evidence. His mood was swinging between depressed, angry and worried from one moment to the next and the last evening had been exhausting for her, never knowing what answer she would get from him to the simplest question. In the end she had told him that he should stay at his place while she spent the night at her place which had resulted in an argument. He had yelled at her that he wouldn't let her out of his sight.

They had driven to her place anyway and told Michelle the news. The teen had been shocked and worried as well, but she seemed to take it well. Cam had been glad that she had had at least one normal person to talk to.

"What are you doing?" she asked the British intern after she had signed yet another bureaucratically something that she hadn't even read through. She knew it was a bad habit and most likely one not only Hodgins took advantage of by smuggling spiders into the lab. However, if she read everything thoroughly they held under her nose to sign, she wouldn't get any actual work done.

"In searching for cause of death, I found three small grooves along the margin on three separate ribs. Number two on the right, five and six on the left," he informed her.

"Not caused by being crushed by two million pounds of gravel and asphalt?" she asked him.

"The nicks are deeper than the extent of the green patina," the intern shook his head.

"Telling us that they pre-existed the green, very good. Okay, what else do these nicks tell us?" she wanted to know from him.

"I haven't the foggiest," he replied so typically British that Cam drew her eyebrows together and wasn't sure if she had heard correctly or was stuck in Monty Python. "Were you aware that Marilyn Monroe had six toes on one foot?" he asked her then. She closed her eyes and tried to keep calm. It wasn't his fault he was annoying her when she was already in a bad mood.

"Keep looking, Mr. Nigel Murray," she told him and left the room before she would lose her patience.

Meanwhile Hodgins sat in the middle of the big, dark hole in the middle of the street. _How symbolic_, he thought, knowing that this must be what a picture of his feelings would look like at the moment. A deep black hole of sadness, anger, fear and grief.

"The remains were covered with one hundred and fifty years worth of rubble. That's a word I love," he told Booth, finding at least something that was positive.

"Half naked dwarf wrestler gets killed and his body gets dumped in some old hole in the ground?" Booth asked, dangling his legs over the edge of the hole.

"Well, most of what he was buried in and what I found around the remains was tile. Translucent, ceramic, vitreous, dating back to the 1920s," he replied.

"What was that, some kind of Turkish bath?"

"Nah, it's a pedestrian underpass," Hodgins informed him and handed him a map. "Here. It collapsed in the 30's, they just threw some rocks into it and paved it over."

"Wait a second, so what you're saying is, you think the leprechaun's body was in that pedestrian underpass when the sinkhole happened?" Booth wanted clarification.

"Yeah, yeah, I mean a guy his size, there could've been a way through it, especially with some digging. That would've stretched from here underground to approximately the other side of the street, and then maybe another twenty feet east," Hodgins said and pointed to the spots he was talking about.

"Cash for gold," Booth said, following his explanation and seeing a shop that could explain what their leprechaun had been doing in the underpass.

~*~

"Jack?" Cam called later that evening when she came out of the bathroom after getting ready for bed. He was surprised when she was still dressed in her work clothes and only her hair was undone, her make-up taken off.

"What's wrong?" he asked and sat up in bed, where he sat, already wearing sweatpants and a shirt.

"I think we need to drive to Dr. Riley again. If I'm not mistaken the problem just solved itself," she said and picked up the phone from the night table.

"Problem?" he asked angrily, not understanding how she could call their baby a problem. Then again it wasn't really a baby, it was... then it registered with him what she had just told him. "Oh God, you're ok? Cam?" he asked but she just waved him off. He remained quiet while she talked to her doctor about what happened.

"I have to go over. You want to come?" she asked him, still absolutely calm.

"You're not driving there by yourself. What if something happens?" he asked her freaked out and was changing back into jeans and a shirt in a hurry.

"Jack, calm down. It's no different than a normal period, maybe a bit heavier. We'll be at the doctor's office in twenty minutes," she said and placed her hands on his shoulders to stop him. He wouldn't be any help if he started panicking.

"I'm just... I need you to be ok," he told her and looked her in the eyes.

"I will be, trust me," she begged and he nodded. "I'll just go and tell Michelle that we'll be gone for a while, you go and bring the car out of the garage, ok?" she asked him and he gave her another nod.

Tapping his foot impatiently against the breaks he waited for her to finally get in the car so they could drive to her doctor. He was going to get back out and see if she had maybe collapsed in the elevator when she opened the car door.

"Are you in pain?" he asked her when he pulled onto the ring road. Until then there had been silence.

"No. Maybe a bit uncomfortable, but that's nothing unusual," she shrugged.

"You body is aborting a fetus, that's pretty unusual if you ask me," he bit back and couldn't hide his anger.

"Actually it's not. Just most women never know about it. 15-20% of early pregnancies end in a miscarriage and those are only the women who even knew that early that they were pregnant," she told him rationally and hoped to get to him with facts, something he was usually good with.

"They aren't you and we know about the pregnancy," he insisted.

"Jack, would you be happier if I had to go through surgery tomorrow afternoon? Or have inner bleedings when the tube ruptures when the fetus grows? There is no way, no matter how much you want it, that I could carry this baby to full term. I'd die trying," she said pointedly and then stared out the window.

"I don't want that. I just wished everything was ok," he replied meekly and then fell silent.

The doctor awaited them and this time Cam told Hodgins to stay in the waiting room. He would have come, she knew, but she thought it was better if he would wait outside and not see the blood and the instruments, the prodding or the needles. For him this had already been a baby and seeing anything like that would surely cause him nightmares for the weeks to come.

"Everything looks good, no unusual bleeding," her doctor told her while doing another ultra sound.

"All gone?" she wanted confirmation.

"Yeah, no surgery necessary," she nodded.

"Oh, thank God," Cam said relieved and closed her eyes for a second. "There's something I wanted to ask you. How is it possible that I was pregnant? You said that the pill was safe immediately after changing from the intrauterine device," she asked. She had wanted to know that the last time but with Hodgins present she hadn't dared to ask.

"Because I know you, I know that you went through all scenarios like sickness, antibiotics, forgotten pill and so on already. If it's none of these my best guess would be fate. It's possible though that the intrauterine device caused the ectopic pregnancy," the gynecologist shrugged.

"I thought it could be because of my age," Cam admitted and wiped the gel off her stomach.

"Could be, but not necessarily. You know that ectopic pregnancies can be a onetime thing, but they can happen again as well," the doctor explained.

"Oh, I don't want it to happen again," Cam shook her head vigorously.

"Then maybe we should try and found out what caused it. Check for scars, anomalies. That way next time we can at least try to avoid another fetus that implants itself in the tube."

"If 'fate' doesn't rain on my parade again, there won't be another pregnancy," Cam said and got up.

"Oh, alright. I just thought you might want to try again," the doctor shrugged.

"No, we didn't try the first time and we surely will be more careful now, if that's even possible. However right now, I really don't feel like 'trying' ever again. I'm just uncomfortable," Cam smiled weakly. "I have an adopted 16 year old at home, that's enough if you ask me," she added.

"Be sure to make another appointment tomorrow so we can start digging for the reasons," she said as they shook hands.

"I will," Cam nodded and left the room, finding Jack pacing in the waiting room.

"And?" he asked with wide, scared eyes, like a child after having a nightmare.

"I'm fine, everything's good and the surgery won't be necessary," she summed it up for him.

"Oh baby," he sighed, relief flooding his every cell and he hugged her hard. "I'm so happy you're ok."

"Me too," she said and hugged him back.

"Do we need to stop at the pharmacy on the way home?" he asked when he pulled back after a while.

"No, we don't," she replied and took his hand when they left the doctor's office. It was rare that she was the one taking his hand, but it seemed like he was still not back to being his old self.

~*~

While Cam had slept like the dead that night he hadn't been able to sleep longer than half an hour and then he had been awake again. He had kept watching her and making sure she really was ok. Never before had he been in a relationship where his partner had been life threateningly sick. He couldn't help but feel partially responsible for it, after all he had been the one who had got her pregnant. Around three in the morning he crept out of bed and googled 'ectopic pregnancy' and what he had found had scared him even more. When he went back to bed around five he pulled her close and pressed his nose to her skin, inhaling her scent.

So when he arrived at work that day he was tired but in a better mood than the day before. Yes, he was still sad, but the relief that she was ok had won for now. Once they knew what had caused the pregnancy to go wrong they could just try again. What the whole thing had shown him were two things: 1. He couldn't lose her and 2. He wanted a family more than anything else. Cam hadn't said much on the subject after the visit to the doctor, she had just been tired and exhausted.

At work, he tried to push the subject from his mind, knowing he had to talk to her about it, sooner better than later.

"I still can't find a bullet," he told Brennan when she stepped into his lab. He was disappointed, but he still knew that he had found something else.

"Well, keep trying," she just replied.

"Could've been washed anywhere by the water. The guy's ring was nearly thirty meters away. High school wrestling, that has got to be the victim's, right? Oh I am back! I mean, King of the Lab, right?" he asked and tried to be happy about this small success.

"No, not King of the Lab. This is not the victim's ring. Achondroplasia causes metaphyseal cupping at the joints, resulting in large knuckles – too big for this ring," she destroyed his hopes and took the ring from him and her phone out of her pocket.

"Well then, whose ring is this?" he asked her, her face telling him that she knew.

"Someone who went to the same high school at the same time, played the same sport, but had average sized fingers," she said and now he knew as well what she was thinking.

~*~

Over the next couple of days and another body coming in it got more and more obvious to Cam that she and Hodgins had to talk. Ever since the fateful day at the doctor's office they hadn't talked about the miscarriage or anything baby related again. Hell, they hadn't even had sex since days before that. Cam was ok with the sex part, because she was still hurting and the thought that she could get pregnant again made her want to buy a chastity belt.

Jack kept making these little comments though. Small allusions to a future together as a family, with kids, as in more than one. So far she had refrained herself from commenting mainly because she didn't want to fight or have the talk they just had to have. The longer she stayed silent the more often he commented and the better his mood got, obviously he took her silence as agreement. While his mood got better and better she felt more and more subdued. Why did this have to happen, she kept asking herself. Why couldn't they just keep living as obliviously happy as they had been, not thinking about anything but the present and maybe the next couple of days?.

"I think Booth was on to something," Hodgins said when he entered the platform where the ashes of human remains were sitting on top of a huge wooden bed.

"What? Spontaneous combustion?" Brennan asked.

"Well, the so-called instances of spontaneous combustion can actually be explained by a phenomenon known as the wick effect," he started explaining and Dr. Edison, the intern of the week looked up. "Okay, here's the classic example. Heavyset guy passes out from booze holding a lit cigarette. He drops the cigarette onto his pajamas. PWHOO! The fire melts his belly fat," he explained happily and with the necessary sound effects.

"The fat soaks into the bedding creating what is essentially a slow burning human candle. The pajamas being the wick," Brennan nodded.

"Fat burns in, not out which explains why nothing else caught on fire," Hodgins agreed.

"Based on the position of the body, the victim was either unconscious or dead when the fire started," Brennan told him.

"People who die in a fire show signs of motion, you know, trying to get away from the flames. This person never moved," her intern added.

"Tox screen from the tissue on the foot showed no signs of drugs or alcohol," Cam entered the platform, folder in hands.

"So then the victim was killed before the fire even started," Hodgins concluded and Cam nodded in agreement. "So you, uh, met Booth's granddad?" he turned to Brennan.

"Yes, I think Booth wants him to move in," she replied.

"Wow, that's a big step," Hodgins was impressed and couldn't help thinking about finally asking Cam and Michelle to move in.

"Hank raised Booth after his father left. Seeley would do anything for him," Cam provided, knowing more about Booth's background than anyone else.

"Booth is a good man," Clark said and surprised them all.

"Well, well. Showing a little interest in the personal lives of your co-workers there, Clark?" Hodgins teased him.

"No. I just meant that...Well, I had a grandparent who lived with us when I was young. And yes, I am. Too often we don't appreciate the elderly until they're gone. I just find Agent Booth's actions to be commendable... and moving," the intern explained.

"You're moved?" Hodgins asked him, now confused. He couldn't believe that anything could move this guy.

"Yes. I'm moved," he agreed but changed when he saw Brennan's look. "And now I'm not." This caused Cam and Hodgins to smirk at each other, both amused by the intern who tried to stay as far away from anything personal as humanly possible. And in a second he was back to talking about work only.

~*~

"Did you read that we found the vest one of the victims wore?" Hodgins asked her from the bathroom that night.

"Yes, it was in your report. Still can't believe we have two people in that bed, not just one," she replied loudly, so he could still hear her.

"And I still can't believe Booth's grandpa calls him "shrimp". I mean, it's cute, but isn't he a bit old for that? Once my grandkids are forty I surely won't call them any nicknames anymore. Think about it, you go out together for dinner and then..." he started but she stopped listening. There it was again. His grandkids. Having grandchildren meant having his own kids. He really wants them, she realized again and sighed quietly. She had thought about it a lot and she had come to a conclusion in her office this afternoon. The only question was if he would accept it or not. She couldn't see an alternative, no matter how long and hard she thought about it. She knew however that she couldn't stand his constant hints anymore.

"You're ok?" he asked when he came into the bedroom, wondering why she was suddenly so quiet.

"I'm fine I told you," she replied and rolled her eyes with a small smile. When he remained standing in the open bathroom door watching her she looked at him for a moment longer and then held out her hand to him. "Come here," she requested. He took her hand and sat down beside her. "Are _you_ ok?" she wanted to know then.

"I'm fine," he said quietly, now having a bad feeling. Something was wrong. She knew that he was sad, and that she needed confirmation for just how sad he was stroke him as weird. He looked down to their joined hands and tried to avoid her eyes, scared what he would find in them.

"Jack," she said slowly and tried to catch his eyes.

"I'm ... ok, I'm not fine, but I will be," he admitted and wrapped his arms around her and slid fully onto the bed so he was sitting next to her on top of the covers.

"You're sad about the baby?" she stated, knowing what was on his mind.

"Yes," he nodded, "I mean, I'm really relieved you're fine, because the thought that something could happen to you scared the crap out of me, but, yeah, I'm sad we lost the baby. Aren't you?" he wanted to know.

"It wasn't really real yet for me. I never thought I'd have a kid of my own one day after Michelle and I had a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that there was supposed to be one inside of me. It was all so surreal. And then, the way it all ended... So many pregnancies never get discovered because they abort themselves during the first two months. If I hadn't had the blood test we would have never known. I guess I'm mainly relieved," she admitted.

"Relieved?" he asked surprised and wrinkled his forehead. "That you didn't have to go into surgery?" he wanted it clarified.

"That I didn't have to go into surgery, that nothing worse happened, that I got an easy way out and also that I won't have to change my life eight months from now. Well, probably sooner..." she said honestly and came to the point of their problem.

"But I thought you wanted the baby," he was even more confused now, starting to realize that maybe she wasn't as keen on having kids as he was.

"I would have had it because it had happened, but I didn't necessarily want a baby," she said.

"Oh," he nodded, understanding.

"Jack, maybe now's the right moment to talk about it. Really talk about it," she said and pulled out of his embrace.

"About what?" He didn't want to have this conversation, because he didn't like how it had started.

"About us. Our future and what we want from it," she said.

"I want you," he replied without blinking.

"Jack," she said seriously. He remained silent though and she sighed.

"Ok, then I'll start," she went on. "You want kids," she stated. "You want to get married, have a family."

"Is that a bad thing?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

"No, it's not," she replied with a sad smile. "I just don't know if I can give you that. Or if I even want to give you that," she went on.

"What are you saying?" he asked, now really alarmed.

"After I left Michelle, I was done with the topic of kids. I never thought about having any myself. And now I have her again. She's not a little kid anymore, but still... I would have had this baby. It had happened and I would have loved him or her. But I don't see myself having kids in the future, not on purpose," she said and his eyes dropped to his hands before he looked at her again.

"Why?" he just asked.

"I like my life the way it is. The responsibility I have for Michelle is enough to keep me up at night. And I'm not twenty anymore," she explained.

"Please, what happened showed that you could totally still have kids. You're not even forty yet," he protested.

"No, if anything, what happened showed that I shouldn't have any kids. Ectopic pregnancies can be caused by age," she said.

"Or by a million of other factors," he said somewhat upset. When she just looked at him he took a deep breath to calm down. "I'd really like having a baby with you, marry you, move in together... well, not necessarily in that order," he said honestly, finally admitting what he wished for.

"Jack, I don't know if any of this will ever happen. You know I love you, but kids and marriage? After I left Andrew I've been done with that, "she said.

"But if I..." he started but she stopped him.

"Let me finish please. I have thought about this ever since we found out about the ectopic pregnancy. We jumped into this relationship head first, without really thinking about the future. We know we love each other, but sometimes... from experience I know that sometimes love isn't enough," she said and saw his eyes widen. "I think we should both think about what we really want and if we are willing to adjust those plans for each other. Would you be willing to live without kids of your own without hating me for it one day? Would I be willing to try and maybe have one anyway? I can't tell you right now," she shook her head sadly. He was quiet and tried to picture it, all his dreams not coming true.

"I don't know either," he admitted finally. "I know that I love you, but never have kids, never get married, never have a real family... I'm not sure I can live that way."

"I think we should take some time off and think about it," she said, her eyes sad already.

"Are you breaking up with me again?" he asked panicked. "I won't let you!" he added forcefully.

"No, I'm not breaking up with you. I really, really do love you," she said, her eyes welling up with tears. "But if we don't get this straight now and deal with the consequences, we will end up hating each other one day, or simply won't be happy. We will fall apart and neither one of us will be happy. I don't want that. I want us both happy and if that ultimately means letting you go, so you can have a family with another woman, then that's what we'll have to do," she said, a tear now falling on her cheek. He hugged her and held her, not really sure at first what to say to that.

"We'll take a step back and spend less time together," he said then, drawing his conclusions from what she had said.

"Stop playing house," she nodded against his shoulder and made him tense. For him it hadn't been 'playing', it had been real.

"But we'll still go out and talk to each other, spend time together. And after a while, we will talk and find a solution that works for the both of us. I'm not giving you up Camille," he said and pressed his lips against her wet cheek. He wasn't sure who he was trying to calm down, her or himself.

"Ok," she nodded, knowing that they had to do this. It didn't mean that she liked it. But this had been exactly what she had come up with herself earlier that day.

"Don't cry," he said softly. "We'll make it work," he promised.

"I don't want to cry. It's still the crazy hormones. It'll take a while until they're out of my system," she said with a tiny smile.

"I had already pictured her, saw her with you," he said referring to the baby.

"I couldn't. I tried, but I couldn't. I felt like I was paralyzed and my feelings had been frozen. I was happy because you were happy, but I... I really would be a horrible mother, Jack. I'm happy that I'm not pregnant. What kind of mother would be happy she miscarried a baby?" she asked him but didn't let him go.

"You're great with Michelle," he said and wanted to say more but then he shut his mouth again. It wasn't his place to convince her of anything now. She was right, they both had to think on their own and then see what would happen. "Is it ok if I spend the night here today?" he asked after a while of silence.

"Sure. Not broken up, remember?" she asked him and pulled back.

"Yeah, just taking a step back," he nodded.

"We should really go to bed now, it's late and we have to get up tomorrow," she said after another moment of uncomfortable silence. He just rolled over and got under the covers on 'his' side- that now felt like it wasn't really 'his' side anymore. She rolled over as well, so their backs were facing each other.

"Good night," he said and stared into the dark.

"Good night," she replied and did the same. Suddenly the distance between them seemed so wide that she felt like she couldn't touch him if she tried. They weren't broken up, and yet he still felt out of reach, just as she did for him. The question was could they find a way to be together or would they have to walk different paths in the future.

They both knew that sleep wouldn't come. Insomnia seemed like the only thing that they had in common that night.

**TBC**

**K, now I'm gonna duck and run...  
**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Home is where the heart is**

Getting up the next morning was awkward. Neither had slept and they both knew it, though they chose to pretend otherwise. Hodgins was glad when he closed the door behind him in the bathroom and locked it for the first time. With a sigh he leaned against it from the inside and rubbed his hands over his eyes. He looked around the bathroom and realized for the first time just how many things he had at her place. His boxer shorts were in the hamper beside the bathtub, his cologne on the shelf, his shower gel and shampoo in her shower, his toothbrush beside hers on the shelf over the sink. He knew that there were also his clothes in her closet, his laptop in her office, his books on her shelf and so many other things just there in her apartment.

He knew she had said that they weren't broken up, he had said the same, but still he had the urge to pack all of his belongings and flee to his house. Would it be childish if he took his dirty clothes out of her laundry hamper and washed them at home? Or was it rude to leave them here, now that they weren't exactly sure where they stood? He closed his eyes again and took another deep breath, hoping to breathe away the helplessness he felt. His heart told him to go out to her, tell her how crazy this "time off" thing was, but his head held him back and yelled at him, telling him that if he would follow his heart now it would get shattered in the future, when he would ask her to marry him and she would say no, when he would want to move in with her and she would refuse, or if she got pregnant again and didn't have his baby.

After he had showered and gotten ready he packed up his toiletries and every other thing he could find without searching for it and packed it in his bag. He decided that he just couldn't come over to her place every time he needed something. It would be torture to just stop by, take his pants and leave again.

With his bag he emerged from the bedroom and made his way to the kitchen where she had already made coffee and was sipping hers with a forlorn look on her face.

"Hey, shower's free," he said and placed his bag on the ground, then took a cup from the cupboard and filled it with the brown liquid.

"Thanks," she replied. "What's that?" she asked him, pointing with her chin in the direction of his bag.

"Just some of my stuff," he shrugged sadly and looked at her over the rim of his cup, while he was leaning beside her against the kitchen counter.

"You packed," she said and he couldn't tell if it was a statement or a question.

"I need my things and if we're apart more... Don't think it'll be good for our thinking process if I keep coming here because I don't have any more clean underwear," he replied and sounded more and more angry with every word.

"You agreed that we need time," she told him and placed her cup on the counter.

"Yes, I agree that we need time and still it pisses me off that we do," he said frustrated. "It feels like we're making problems up where there really aren't any," he added.

"But there will be if we don't fix this now. And then we won't be able to fix it anymore," she replied calmly, but in a depressed voice. "I don't like it either." He didn't have anything else to say to that and neither did she so they drank their coffee in silence, their shoulders brushing against each other.

"I should go, I want to stop by my place first and drop off my stuff," he said then and placed the cup in the sink.

"K, see you at work," she nodded and didn't dare look up. He hesitated a second and then placed a chaste kiss on her cheek before he left, taking his things with him. She watched him leave and the heavy weight that settled on her shoulders when the door closed behind him nearly made her knees buckle.

She heard the clock behind her beeping once, letting her know that it was six o'clock and she'd better get ready or she would be late.

~*~

During her usual rounds that morning she found Brennan's intern Dr. Edison alone in the boneroom, examining their latest victim, or what was left of him.

"I've pulled all the teeth we've found in the ashes. These incisors and molars, they match the x-rays that were sent over from Hugo Tucker's dentist," he said when he saw her.

"So it's definitely him?" she asked and went on when he nodded. "Any markers on the fragments that could help Angela ID a weapon?"

"All the bone damage I've found so far is a result of fire. The heat causes the bone to break apart into small crescent shapes," he reported and showed her on the magnifier what he was talking about. "Like this. Or they'll show a criss-cross pattern. Like this."

"Huh. Have you gone through them all?" she wanted to know.

"I'm still looking," he replied.

"Excellent," she said and began to exit and then stopped. She needed to tell him, even if he was uncomfortable talking about anything private. However, at the moment she was very much leaning towards speaking your mind, before you regretted not doing so afterwards. "Oh. And I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised yesterday that you felt relaxed enough to talk about your grandfather," she said.

"I'm human, you know? I just believe in working at work," he replied.

"I realize that. I do," she said and thought that his work ethic would have saved her a lot of trouble. But then again, who was she trying to fool? She didn't regret falling in love with Hodgins, not a second of it, even if there was a chance he would walk away from her in the future.

"And I love my grandfather very much, but...I really should have the discipline to keep it to myself," the intern went on.

"Of course. Then carry on," she nodded and headed to the door.

"He never got to see what I became," he said suddenly and she stopped in the open door."What I do...it's for him," he admitted. There it was again: Regrets, she could hear it in his voice.

"I'm sure he'd be very proud," she told him and then left the room, not sure how long she would have her emotions under control. Any other time she was up to listening to the private stories of her co-workers, just not these days when she had to decide about her future and maybe lose the man she loved in the process.

~*~

She'd managed to avoid Hodgins at the lab until her phone rang.

"Saroyan," she answered, although she had seen on the display that it was him calling from his lab.

"It's me. Can you come over? I found something. Booth and Brennan are already on their way," he said quickly.

"Sure," she replied and hung up.

"Hey, I was just about to come see you," Angela said when she stepped outside, ready to enter Cam's office.

"Something important?" she wanted to know and quirked one eyebrow.

"No, basically I was just bored," the artist shrugged. "And I wanted to ask you if you and Jack are interested in coming over for dinner this weekend," she went on and held one hand up when Cam wanted to answer. "Don't worry, I'm not cooking. A friend of mine did a cooking course and now he makes amazing lasagna. He's going to do it at my place, cause it's bigger and we can invite friends," she explained.

"Thank you Angela for the invitation, but I can't this weekend. I already have plans. Maybe Jack would like to come alone. Just ask him," she shrugged and tried to sound as innocent as possible.

"Everything ok?" Angela asked, her sixth sense kicking in.

"Sure," Cam fake smiled just as they entered the lab. A second later Booth and Brennan arrived and Hodgins held out a petri dish to them.

"So this was melted onto one of the bedsprings," he said.

"What is that?" Booth wanted to know.

"It's a slim ring," Brennan replied.

"One more time. What is that?" Booth said again, still having no idea what a slim ring was.

"It's a gastric banding device that actually limits the amount of food a person's stomach can hold at one time," Hodgins gave the squint explanation.

"A surgical means of losing weight," Cam summed it up so it would make sense to the FBI agent.

"Well that's how she lost 100 pounds in such a short time," Angela said knowingly.

"Heh. So much for willpower," Booth scoffed.

"It has a serial number," Brennan said as she looked through the microscope taking a closer look.

"Yeah, exactly. I talked to the doctor who did the operation. It turns out that the slim ring was not registered to Meg Tracy, but it was registered to her roommate, Stephanie Stevens," Hodgins said as he pulled up a digital copy of the record on the computer.

"Woah. Meg used her roommate's insurance. Bet Stephanie was pretty mad about that," Cam concluded.

"Well especially if she wanted to get the same procedure herself. But now couldn't," Brennan agreed just as Booth's phone rang.

"But mad enough to kill?" Angela asked.

"Oh, I've seen people kill for a lot less, believe me," Booth replied before he picked up his phone "Booth. Yeah, God, is he alright? Okay, I'm on my way," he said and hung up. "Uh, there was a fire in my place. Pops was cooking and the stove and uh...," he explained and then hurried out of the lab leaving the others behind.

~*~

Hodgins was glad that he had enough work to do so he could stay in his lab during lunch hours and not raise any suspicion. He just kept working and occupied his mind with bugs, slime and particulates so he could avoid thinking about anything else. He was glad when Brennan and Clark came back in the afternoon, because he didn't have anything else to analyze and they gave him something new: Teak wood.

With that new knowledge they inspected the bed again and Angela noticed that the finials were missing.

"So the rest of the bed was carved which means the finials must have been carved too," Angela said as they all stood in her office in front of the big screen. "Okay. This is the real estate agents virtual tour of Howard's house. Look. We have finials," she said and zoomed in on a picture of the bed.

"The reason why the image looked like a nose was because it was a nose," Cam said when she saw the finials. "The victim was beaten with one of these heads."

"Wait, that's Howard Fileman, the homeowner. He said he was a master carpenter," Brennan said when she saw the carved head.

"So the other one was probably his wife."

"So it wasn't about who was having sex, but about where they were having sex," Cam said knowingly.

"Howard carved this bed for him and his wife. It was a symbol of their love," Angela said.

"Meg and Hugo both had roommates. The house was cheaper than a hotel," Hodgins joined in on the story.

"Howard catches Meg and Hugo having sex in his bed," Cam went on without looking at him.

"Weird cake sex," Clark added.

"He kills them, sets the bed on fire, then leaves with the busts of him and his wife," Hodgins told the end of the story.

"That's so sweet," Angela gushed and they all looked quizzically at her. "A...a...and it's horrible too. It's mainly horrible," she added quickly.

"I'll tell Booth. Howard might still have the finials we'll pull blood and tissue from," Brennan said and left.

"Oh he'll still have them. I guarantee it. It's all he has left of her," Angela nodded.

"Ok, case solved... at least I hope so," Cam said and left the room. Not knowing what he should do any longer in Angela's office Hodgins left as well. He had just stepped outside when he saw that Cam was standing only a few feet away.

"You're waiting for someone?" he asked her when he reached her. He couldn't just walk past her without saying something.

"For you, actually," she said and walked beside him to his office.

"Oh really," he said and smiled flirtatiously at her, momentarily forgetting their problems.

"Really," she smiled back, but it didn't reach her eyes. He closed the door behind them, not really sure what to expect. Part of him hoped and feared that she had come to a conclusion already about the future of their relationship.

"Sooo, what's up?" he asked nervously.

"Jack, can we please not act like we're fighting? I hate this," she sighed when she saw his tense shoulders and how he eyed her.

"I'm sorry, but it's just weird standing here and 'taking a step back' when I don't know exactly how many steps we have to take back. I mean... do we just not stay the night at each other's places? Do we stop talking altogether? Do I call you and tell you what I did all day or can't I even hug you anymore?" he rambled. "I think we weren't really clear on that," he admitted with a sigh.

"You didn't kiss me goodbye this morning," she said quietly, the shaking in her voice signalizing how much that had hurt her.

"I was angry. And sad. Well… mainly sad," he shrugged.

"I don't want us to fight. After all the point of this is to figure out what we both want and not how we can break up with each other without admitting it," she replied. She took in his stance and then walked over to him and hugged him, leaning down a bit so her head fit comfortably under his chin. "That ok?" she asked timidly.

"Always," he smiled and placed a kiss on her hair.

"I just wanted to warn you that Angela invited us to dinner this weekend and I said I already had plans. I told her that maybe you would want to come alone," she told him without breaking the embrace.

"No, I don't want to," he replied. "How are you feeling today?" he asked her then, still worried there might be some complications after the miscarriage.

"Tired, but otherwise fine," she said and stepped out of the embrace. "And you?" she placed a hand on his cheek so he was looking her in the eyes.

"I hate this," he just said and she gave him a sad smile in return.

"I have to get back to work. You call me tonight?" she asked.

"If I'm allowed to," he replied.

"Absolutely," she smiled at him and then left his office.

~*~

"Hey Michelle, what are you doing here?" Hodgins asked surprised but with a smile when he opened his door late Friday evening and found the teen in front of it. She had let herself past the security gate already and she could have easily used the spare key she had to come in. However she rang the bell, obviously wanting him to know that she was there.

"I forgot my iPod here last time," she shrugged and entered the house when he stepped aside.

"Your iPod? You only use your iPod when you're hanging out at the pool," he grinned, knowing that wasn't the reason for her late visit. Michelle just shrugged. "Come on in, I'm watching some American Idol worst singer whatever thing," he smiled and nodded in the direction of the living-room. "Still need to get it off my Tivo."

"I'm in," Michelle smiled and kicked her shoes off before she followed him.

"Cam knows you're here?" he asked when they sat down.

"Yup, she knows. She's hanging out in the tub, reading," Michelle replied and made herself comfortable on the couch.

"I'll call her later," he said, feeling like it needed to be pointed out.

"Jack? Are you breaking up again?" Michelle asked him after a few minutes during which they concentrated on the TV program. He was surprised because this was the first time she called him by his first name.

"I hope not," he replied truthfully.

"Then what's going on? Why are you here and not home with us?" she wanted to know.

"Have you talked to Cam about this?" he asked her, not sure if it was his place to say anything.

"Oh please, like she would tell me. With her you already need to know what's going on so you can get any information," the teen huffed. "And you're the one who's not home, so I'm asking you," she insisted and unintentionally hit bulls eye.

"I'm home, Michelle. This is my house," he said quietly, feeling like she had just punched him right into the gut.

"I mean home with us, like you always are. We're either at your place together or at our place together. We spend weekdays at Cam's place and weekends here. It's a nice routine and I like it," she remained stubborn, not knowing how much pain she caused him with her words.

"I like it, too," he admitted and then took a deep breath, knowing he wouldn't get out of this until he spoke the truth. "Look," he started and she actually sat up and turned towards him, signaling to him that he had her full attention, "you know that the pregnancy didn't go as it should have. And I'm really relieved that Cam is ok now and nothing happened to her," he said.

"Me too. She really scared me," Michelle nodded.

"The whole thing made us realize though that maybe we don't want the same things in the future," he went on and she interrupted him.

"Like?"

"Kids, marriage, that kind of stuff," he said. "We need time to figure out how much we can adjust our plans without losing ourselves and becoming unhappy," he said.

"You don't want kids?" she asked him surprised.

"I'd love to have kids," he replied truthfully.

"Oh," she nodded and looked down at her hands.

"No, Michelle, please don't take this the wrong way. Cam loves you so much, like you were her own child. For her that's enough. You were always enough for her," he reassured her.

"But you want kids of your own," she nodded in understanding.

"Yeah. But we'll figure it out… I hope," he said.

"I hope so, too. You're pretty cool for being my mother's boyfriend," she smiled a bit.

"You're just saying that because we always watch MTV crap together," he grinned and tried to lighten the mood.

"And because I beat you in Mario Cart," she grinned back.

"I still want revenge on that one," he laughed. "You cheated."

"I did not!" she shrieked.

"Did too!" he insisted.

"Ok, then come on! We'll settle this right here, right now," she said, got off the couch and switched on the Wii that stood on the TV rack. Next she handed him one controller while she kept the other.

"This time you'll eat dust!" he proclaimed as the game started and positioned himself next to her.

"You wish!" she replied and they started their game, which was accompanied by as much trash talking as they could come up with.

~*~

"And, what did you do today?" Cam asked Jack late Saturday night when he finally called.

"I went out and grabbed a beer with a friend I hadn't seen in a while," he reported and quietly tip-toed into his living room. He had just come back and he didn't want her to know that he had called her first thing when he got home. "And you?"

"I was called in this morning to assist on an autopsy over at the memorial hospital because they weren't too sure on cause of death. After that I re-organized my office at home and then I drove Michelle over to Perry," she replied.

"You let her spend the night?" he asked surprised.

"No, but Perry's car broke down and I need mine tomorrow. I'll pick her up later," she replied.

"Was it ok that I let her spend the night here yesterday?" he asked next. He hadn't been too sure, because Michelle had called Cam and he hadn't talked to her since Michelle had said Cam was heading straight to bed.

"Sure. I suspected something was up when she told me she had left her iPod at your place," she said. "Especially when I found it in the living-room," she added with laughter in her voice.

"We played another round of Wii and she beat me again," he said, not wanting to bring up the talk he had with Michelle.

"But she didn't come over to play video games with you, did she?" Cam asked though, already suspicious.

"No, she didn't. She wanted to know why I wasn't home, her words not mine," he sighed.

"I figured something like that. She likes you," Cam replied, her voice nearly neutral.

"I like her, too. Would like her even more if she wasn't as nosy," he added to lighten the mood.

"She grilled you, huh?" Cam laughed.

"She said she needed to know what was going on before she could talk to you, wanted to know if we broke up. And she asked about the miscarriage," he summed up their talk.

"I told her I'm alright," Cam said, ignoring the other things.

"She wanted to know if we're doing this because I don't want kids," he finally admitted.

"What did you say?" she wanted to know, her voice now full of tension. He wished she was there so he could see her eyes, take her in his arms and then talk to her.

"The truth," he replied. Then there was silence.

"Oh," she said after a moment.

"That's what she said. But I assured her that this whole discussion has nothing to do with your love for her. I said that she's just enough for you because you see her as your own child," Jack told her and finally stopped walking through the living room and sat down.

"She is. When I lost her back then I decided that I never wanted to go through that ever again," she said quietly.

"We lost our baby," he pointed out.

"I don't know why, but I still don't feel like there was a baby. It's still not real to me that I was actually pregnant," she tried to defend herself, not sure it was even necessary.

"For me it was and now I sit here alone in this house, you're not here and depending on how this will end I will lose Michelle as well," he said and stopped, trying to keep the next words in, but the anger he suddenly felt made them spill out. "You said we were playing house. For me it wasn't playing house, but having a family, a real one. And I thought you liked that, liked us," he went on.

"I did… I do," she threw in.

"Then why can't we have that again, be that again and make it official one day? Why can't you just move in here, we have a kid together as well and just be happy?" he asked frustrated.

"I'm 38 years old, Jack. When I was twenty I dreamed of having a family of my own, a husband, kids. Then I met Andrew and suddenly had a daughter, we were gonna get married and have more kids. I was… so happy. And then I found out it was all a lie and he was cheating on me the whole time. For him it wasn't enough, it would never have been enough. I don't believe in family anymore," she said and sounded so sad and disenchanted that it broke his heart.

"I still do. I want nothing more than to have a family again," he said quietly.

"And that's exactly why you're there and I'm here," Cam replied and he swore he heard a sob escaping her.

"I know," he nodded and sighed deeply.

"It's not like I don't miss you, Jack. It's not like I wanna do this," she said and he felt that she was holding something back.

"I know," he repeated, not sure what else he could say.

"Do you want to come over for dinner tomorrow?" she asked him when he didn't say anything else. She had her emotions under control again.

"Cam, I don't know if I can do this... I would love to, but then I have to go home again and... I don't think that's a good idea," he said finally. His first impulse had been to say yes and hurry over tomorrow, even long before dinner. But then he saw himself going home in the evening, alone, back to his empty house. He couldn't do it.

"Ok, then see you Monday Jack," she sounded defeated and hung up before he could say another word.

~*~

"Michelle you want to go to the diner or order something in?" Cam asked her daughter Sunday afternoon.

"Why can't we go over to Dr. H. and let him cook for us?" she replied innocently.

"I asked him over for dinner for today but he declined," Cam replied.

"What did you do this time?" Michelle wanted to know and sat down on the armrest of the couch where Cam sat.

"I didn't do anything. We talked on the phone last night and I asked him if he wanted to stop by for dinner today and he said no, end of story," Cam shrugged and tried to look as indifferent as possible.

"Do I really have to ask or are you gonna tell me what's really going on?" Michelle rolled her eyes.

"As if you don't already know. Jack told me that you talked about it," Cam replied.

"You're barely talking but still ganging up on me. Unbelievable," Michelle replied and slid down onto the couch so she was sitting next to Cam. "So you're really gonna break up because he wants kids and you don't? You know, I wouldn't mind a little sister or brother," the teen started innocently enough.

"Sorry, not happening," Cam shook her head.

"Why not?"

"I'm too old," Cam replied with the first argument that popped up in her head.

"Totally not true. In Italy a 65 year old woman had a baby. And you're not even forty yet, which means that you could still have ten or more kids," Michelle disagreed.

"The woman in Italy didn't conceive in a natural way and it's wrong. She will most likely die before the kid even hits puberty... which might not be that bad after all," Cam said the last part like she was contemplating it.

"Haha, very funny. And I still say you're not too old. You just don't want to have kids, that's all. I just don't understand why. Was I such a terror?" Michelle wondered.

"Oh honey, no, you were great... still are most of the time. It's just... after I had to leave you behind kids haven't really been part of my plan anymore, neither was marriage."

"Did he propose?" the teen's eyes widened.

"God no!" Cam exclaimed. "Although he made it clear that he wants the full package in the future."

"Which is..?"

"Get married, have kids, grow old together," Cam elaborated.

"With you?" the teen asked.

"He didn't specify, he just said that that's his plan. He already had it when he was with Angela. They wanted to get married, she wanted a million kids and he agreed... I had kind of forgotten about that," Cam said with a sad smile.

"Why did they break up?"

"She had doubts, he couldn't really trust her, something like that," she shrugged.

"Poor guy, always picking women who can't commit," Michelle sighed.

"Hey, I'm able to commit, thank you very much," Cam huffed.

"Yeah, maybe as long as you don't think about the rest of your life. Just accept it, you're damaged goods. I can't tell if that's Dad's fault or not, but you definitely are. When it gets too serious you get cold feet," Michelle said in a tone that showed that she thought herself wise beyond her years.

"Not wanting to ruin my body with pregnancy can hardly be considered cold feet," her legal guardian protested.

"Tell yourself that. I don't believe it," Michelle said and stood up. "Oh and I'm going to dinner with Perry, his car is fixed," she added and walked into her room, leaving Cam alone in the living-room.

~*~

Late Sunday evening Jack Hodgins found himself in a bar downtown, one he rarely visited and when he did only to get wasted. He hadn't been able to stay at home any longer so he went to the bar with no other intention than to drink himself to sleep.

His plan was corrupted however when he saw an old friend of his sitting at the counter, a beer in front of him.

"Ben, long time no see," he greeted him and sat down on the stool beside him.

"Jack Hodgins, the one and only. Can't believe it man, it's been a while," his old buddy grinned and slapped his shoulder in a friendly way.

"Yeah. I think last time I saw you was at the interrupted wedding with Angela," Jack nodded and signaled the bartender for a beer as well.

"You're still together?" Ben asked, never one for beating around the bush.

"No, broke up a while later," Jack replied and took the beer the bartender had placed in front of him.

"That's why you're here?" his friend wanted to know.

"No. Different lady, other problems," Hodgins shook his head and sipped on his beer. He placed the lass back on the counter and turned it around and around with his fingers. "And you?"

"Different lady, but a definite break-up," Ben admitted.

"What happened?" Jack asked.

"Messed it up, kissed another girl, slept with another woman," Ben sighed and ordered another beer with a wave of his hand.

"Idiot," Jack only replied.

"I know. And you?" came the question back to him.

"She got pregnant, lost the baby and then told me afterwards that she doesn't want kids anyway. A decade ago another guy let her down by cheating on her repeatedly and now she's willing to risk everything because she decided back then that she won't have kids and a husband in her future. Can't even tell you if we're broken up or not. I guess something in between," he reported.

"You really want kids, man?" Ben asked and didn't sound to enthusiastic about it.

"I don't have any family left. And it sucks," Hodgins complained.

"Kids don't mean having a family. I have two, they're living with my ex-wife and I barely see them. She alone isn't enough for you?" Ben wanted to know and asked the question aloud that Hodgins had been asking himself ever since he and Cam had their talk.

"I... I just don't know," he admitted.

"Be sure about it, otherwise it won't end well," his friend advised. "But in the meantime don't worry too much and enjoy the time you have to hang out with your buddies and do whatever you like. If she's really the one you will find your way back together at one point or another. Cheers," Ben said and held out his glass.

"Cheers," Hodgins nodded and clicked his glass against Ben's.

~*~

Wednesday morning Cam was already at the crime scene when Booth and Brennan arrived. They were obviously discussing something and she rolled her eyes at them. The last three days she and Hodgins had acted nearly friendly around each other, neither talked about anything but work and Cam decided that as long as she hadn't made up her mind about whether or not she could adjust her future plans for him, she would stay out of everything that would distract her from thinking about what she wanted. She would stay out of anything that involved other people and concentrate solely on herself.

She had asked Michelle to back off and leave her alone, because the teen had been trying to talk her into something she wasn't sure she really wanted. Why couldn't she be like any other woman and dream about a husband and kids? It wasn't like she'd never done that, however something held her back from letting herself really consider that option for herself.

"Why do you gotta make things so complicated? Let me break it down for you, okay? Basketball, football, hockey… that's a sport. Board games, fishing? Not a sport," Booth said as they walked up to her.

"No problem going easy on the fried food after this one," Cam said and pointed to the body that had been dumped into the grease.

"Woah," Booth exclaimed as he saw the body.

"Well, the International Olympic Committee is considering adding chess as a sport," Brennan went on with their discussion but Booth only scoffed.

"Not a sport," Cam shook her head, because her idea of sport was something that had to do with sweat, moving and muscles.

"See? Not a sport," Booth agreed with her.

"Neither is, uh, ribbon twirling, bridge, or synchronized swimming," Cam added for good measure.

"Synchronized swimming. That is not a sport. That's for sure," Booth agreed again but Brennan didn't seem too happy, because she was making a face.

Oh God. I'm in the middle of something, aren't I?" Cam asked shocked, because what she had wanted to avoid most had happened. She was in the middle of something she didn't want to be in. If she couldn't avoid it with Booth and Brennan how could she keep avoiding getting into the middle of things with Hodgins? Booth whistled and brought her back to reality.

"Oh look! Dead guy," she said.

"Yeah, look at that. Colonel's not gonna like this one," Booth nodded.

"Male. No sign of clothing. All other stats still unknown. He was found at the bottom of this grease receptacle by those lovely gentlemen over there," Cam reported.

"The remains are covered in flesh. Why am I here?" Brennan asked.

"I don't know. I told Booth," Cam shrugged and realized her mistake when Booth made an unhappy noise. "Oh God. In the middle, again," she groaned. Seems like her plan wasn't working and she had just come up with it the night before.

~*~

When she got back to the Institute, the body in tow as well as the ever bickering duo, she went to her office, already knowing that a lot of work was awaiting her with this body. She was surprised when she found Hodgins pacing in front of her desk and her heart sped up, because she was simply happy to see him.

"Jack, you need something?" she asked him and put her heavy bag down beside her desk.

"Yeah, I need to talk to you," he sighed, still fidgeting nervously with his hands.

"About?" she asked warily as she closed the door and shut the blinds as a precaution. She didn't want the others to know they were... whatever they were.

"About Bancroft," he said and surprised her. He came around her desk and leaned against it, so he was facing her.

"What did he do now?" she wanted to know.

"He made a request to personally take over the forensics department," Hodgins started.

"What? He knows nothing about forensics," Cam exclaimed.

"Exactly. My C.O. told me that he alluded to the 'benefits that it might bring to not only be your boss on paper'," he said cautiously, because one never knew how Cam would react to news like this.

"Urgh," she made and paled.

"I want you to know that I stepped in and told him that if he would ever so much as look your way I will have him fired. He knows now who I am," Hodgins went on and her eyes widened.

"Jack..." she gasped because he had blown his cover.

"I am the boss of this institute whether I like it or not. And I won't have it that a jerk is using his power to harass his female employees; especially not my girlfriend. He'd also filed a request not to prolong my contract at the end of the year and I'd hate to lose my job," he said and held up one hand, before she could tell him that he shouldn't have done it.

"And now?" she asked instead.

"Now, I guess, I'll have to be there at the meetings and people will treat me differently, especially the suits," he sighed.

"I'll protect you from them at the next meeting," she grinned and held his look when he smiled back at her. The simple banter brought the spark back that was always between them and made them forget their problems. Again, the magic of his baby blues wasn't lost on her and she leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips. She pulled back and saw the same longing in his eyes that she felt. Only a few days without his constant presence and she felt like weeping- but couldn't. He slung his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, kissed her again. Within seconds the soft kiss turned into a passionate battle of tongues and lips and she couldn't think anymore. Didn't want to think anymore.

"I miss you," she gasped out before her lips sealed his again.

"I want you," he replied in a hoarse whisper and his hands wandered under her blouse, desperate for some contact.

"Mmh," she only made and didn't even attempt to stop him when he pressed her against her desk, placed wet kisses on her neck and started unbuttoning her blouse.

A beeping sound from the other end of the lab brought him back to reality and he stopped, then pulled back, while she was still not thinking coherently.

"God, I'm, sorry," he said and looked up to the cameras and she followed his eyes. He then took both ends of her open blouse, covered her, and buttoned her blouse slowly.

"Don't be. I started it after all," she admitted with a small smile while he was still concentrating on the buttons.

"When will we talk?" he asked her and she knew what he was asking.

"Have you made a decision yet?" she wanted to know. He looked down to his feet and shook his head.

"Not yet," he admitted.

"Me either," she said and made him look at her by placing a finger under his chin. "I'm trying, Jack," she added quietly.

"Me too," he nodded, kissed her softly and then left her office before he lost control over his actions again. However, once he had stepped outside and the door closed behind him he felt the sadness hit him full force before it was slowly replaced by anger. _Why doesn't she want me?_ He kept asking himself. _What did Andrew Welton have that I don't?!_

~*~

Later that day Fisher had a nice surprise for Hodgins and Sweets.

"You're kidding. Avatar?" the psychologist wanted to know.

"Yup," the intern nodded, showing them the tickets. "There were over 10,000 entries for 500 tickets."

"And you won," Sweets said excitedly.

"Yeah. Good fortune. If I thought that good fortune existed," Fisher couldn't help himself and showed his usually depressive self.

"And you're taking us," Hodgins grinned. This was what he had been looking for. A distraction, something to dive into and let him forget everything else.

"All friendship is fleeting and ends in abandonment so, why not spend a few good hours with you guys until it all falls apart," Fisher replied.

"Works for me," Sweets shrugged.

"Heck yeah, it does. Nice. Avatar. You guys do realize that being this excited about a sci-fi film will drastically cut down on the number of women that will sleep with us," Hodgins pointed out, keeping what Ben had told him in mind. Enjoy the time alone. Cam wanted time, she could have time, he thought stubbornly. He would go out and have fun, as much fun as he could possibly have.

"Oh, I'm into the high double digits, sex-wise so… not worried," Fisher replied.

"You're closing in on a hundred women?" Sweets couldn't believe it.

"Mhm," the intern confirmed.

"Mr. Fisher? I'm ready," Brennan called from the other side of the lab.

"Coming, Dr. Brennan," he replied and slapped Hodgins with the folder he held as he walked off.

"A hundred women? That's a lot," Sweets pointed out once he was gone.

"Yeah, yeah. Hats off to the guy, huh?" Hodgins grinned slightly and slapped Sweets lightly in the chest. When he looked back up to the platform his eyes stayed for a moment on Cam's open door, his smile getting shaky. It took all of his effort to keep it in place. He refused to let this thing get him down. After their last discussion earlier in the morning he had once again reached the stage of stubbornness and masked his hurt with being in a snit. She needed to think about having him in her life and in her future, fine, then she shouldn't wonder if he did what he wanted from now on. Every time she hugged him or told him she missed him she got his hopes up that she had made up her mind, and every time she let him down again. It had barely been a week since their talk and he was already fed up with it. He watched Brennan and Fisher work on the platform while he thought, but his heart still sped up when Cam walked out of her office and onto the platform.

"Those injuries didn't kill him. There's grease in all levels of the bronchi, which means our victim was alive when he was tossed into the vat," she said and squeezed the liquid out of the lungs into the bowl beneath it. "Cause of death is drowning and cooking. Or, vice versa," she said.

"Saturated fats. They're a killer," Fisher remarked before the three of them walked to the PC where Cam showed them what else she had found.

~*~

Hodgins spent the rest of the day occupied with thoughts of the Navi and a world called Pandora. He had volunteered for the nightshift, knowing he wasn't really sleeping these days anyway and anything was better than lying awake and alone in his bed at home.

Sweets, Fisher and he had a rotating system now when it came to waiting in the line in front of the cinema. However the morning of the next day Sweets let him know that he couldn't take the next shift as planned. He was just about to hurry off when Cam came to his office. He briefed her on what he had found so far, refusing to talk about anything else. He was scared that talking about anything but work would burst the bubble he had built around himself. It was a happier place inside, even if it wasn't reality.

"This is it. This is it. This is all I've got so far," he said.

"Please tell me these all crawled into the dumpster after the oil was removed from the restaurant," Cam requested with a small smile on her face.

"No. All the insects had antemortem burns, which means they flew into the oil while it was cooking," he replied truthfully.

"So easy to diet around here," she joked, but he didn't go with it. Instead he rattled off his other findings, getting faster and faster while he talked.

"So, I assumed that the fragment of the cricket exoskeleton from the skull wound trace had migrated into the skull from the grease but definitely uncooked which means my three mysterious particulates were all transferred from the weapon. Now, the exoskeleton is from the Gryllidae family, probably a nocturnal cricket, the graminoid seed is from a fescue grass and I thought the silk-like fiber was from a tetrapod but what kind is indeterminate at this point," he said while bringing up the pictures on the screen.

"You're talking really fast. Are you late for something?" Cam asked and narrowed her eyes at him.

"No. No. Why? Do you want me to go through it all again, more slowly?" he asked her and tried to sound as innocent as possible.

"No, that's okay. Do you know where the cricket and the grass came from?" she brushed it off, although she still had the feeling that something was going on.

"Yes. Yes. North America," he nodded nervously. He could tell by the look in her eyes that she was on to him.

"Great. So, Asia's out," she deadpanned.

"I'm still analyzing what was in the water where the fescue grew but, you know, I can check that against specific water districts and narrow down the location further, so…" he said hurriedly. He needed to leave he knew, but if Cam really wanted to know what was going on she would grill him a bit longer.

"Great," she said and turned to leave. Immediately he checked his watch and pretended to scratch himself when she turned back around.

"Oh. Have you seen Fisher?" she asked him and the big "Busted" sign went up in his head.

"Uh, no. No. But I'll go find him," he stuttered, seeing this as his chance to escape her.

"That's not necessary. I'm sure he'll turn up," she replied.

"Yeah, but you know what, the mass spec is doing its thing and the computer, the computer really checks all the districts so I'm on autopilot here for at least the next 2 hours and we know Fisher – how depressed he gets – so I'll go find him," he said and rushed out, leaving Cam behind with a confused look on her face. He hadn't touched her, hadn't asked her how she was, hadn't kissed her- not even on the cheek. It was like they were broken up and he had already moved on. Her eyebrows drew closer together and she crossed her arms in front of her chest. Would he already be seeing other women? She hadn't even decided yet on where she wanted their relationship to go and he had already moved on? Nah, she shook her head, answering her own silent question. If there was one thing she could be sure about it was his love for her, after all he hadn't been the one to pull back. There had to be another reason for his behavior.

~*~

Later that night, after several trips back and forth between the Jeffersonian and the movie theater Sweets was standing in line while Fisher was enjoying himself in the tent with the tattoo girl. Hodgins approached the psychologist and they were both starring at the tent when Hodgins cell phone rang. Cam's name flashed on the screen. He looked around himself, looked at the tent, the line with people and Sweets and switched off his cell phone. Not today, not tonight, he had decided that morning. He knew she wanted to check on him. That one call in the evening was all that was left of their relationship these last few days. But tonight he wouldn't take it, because it always hurt him more than it helped him. Hearing how sad she was and talking about how lonely he felt while she just couldn't end this drama was hard and ruining his mood. He wondered if maybe a clear cut wouldn't be best for him. Then again, there was the option that she would change her mind while thinking about it and there was still a chance for them and for a family together. His cell phone back in his jacket pocket, he walked up to Sweets.

"Why are you standing over here? What? Oh. Fisher?" he said when he saw the tent move.

"Yeah," Sweets nodded dully.

"So, he pitched his tent when you didn't," Hodgins observed.

"By 'pitch his tent', you mean… yeah, that's what he did. Fisher said that in the short amount of time that I've been with Daisy, he pitched his tent with seven women," Sweets reported.

"Yeah, but come on. Fisher, he only ever pitches his tent once with each woman. You, you're the kind of guy, you don't just pitch a tent, you homestead the land," he tried to encourage him, wishing he would homestead the land, build a palace there and fill it with kids...

"Oh. So, he's the rock star and I'm the farmer. That's great," Sweets still wasn't happier, not understanding what Hodgins was getting at.

"Okay, Sweets. Let's do the math here, okay? Fisher's seven women versus your one Daisy. Seven one-night stands, let's give him the benefit of the doubt and say that he's had sex, what? 21 times, okay? Now, rough estimate, how many times have you and Daisy pitched a tent?" Hodgins tried it another way. Maybe math would help.

"Daisy and I are together approximately five nights a week, so that's 10 times a week over seven months… you add in the mornings –" Sweets started.

"Woah. Silent math. You got a number?" Hodgins requested.

"Yeah," Sweets grinned.

"Don't tell me. Is it more than 21?" Hodgins asked, without wanting any details.

"It's way more than 21," the kid nodded.

"Quality of the experience. It's much more important than the quantity," Hodgins said with a wistful smile. The pictures were back in his head. Their first time, the time after they got back together, the playfulness on their vacation and the quiet nights at her place, the many times he had told her he loved her... The line started to move and he was snapped out of his thoughts, the smile losing its sadness and becoming real again.

"We are going in. Yes," he grinned and took his card out of his jacket while letting go of his cell phone that he had still held with one hand the whole time. It was switched off, she couldn't call anymore that night and he could enjoy the movie and his time out with friends, just as Ben had told him to.

"Should we – uh, tell Fisher we're going in?" Sweets asked.

"Nah. Screw him," Hodgins shrugged.

"But, he's gonna miss the movie," Sweets argued.

"Yeah, well, serves him right," he grinned as they moved closer and closer to the entrance.

"Uh, if you were in my shoes, you would have gone for her, wouldn't you?" Sweets asked him.

"Heck yeah, are you kidding me? Did you see those tattoos, oh! Epic," Hodgins replied with a cocky grin. He was a guys guy this night and he was hanging out with his buddies. However on the inside he knew that there was no way he would have gone for her, no matter how many tattoos a girl had. As long as she didn't have silky black hair, sparkling, warm brown eyes, a sharp tongue, dimples that showed when she smiled and was called Camille Saroyan he didn't want any woman. He just wasn't sure anymore she wanted him.

**TBC**


	10. Chapter 10

**Thanks to Gianna for betaing!**

**Chapter 10: Merry Christmas**

Cam was sitting on her sofa, a glass of red wine in her hand and a pensive look on her face. After her strange conversation with Hodgins this morning and one other after that when she had seen him, he had been MIA all day. She had seen how he had entered the Institute around late afternoon only to leave work earlier than usual.

When she had come home she had tried to call him but he hadn't been home. When she had tried his cell he had shut his phone off. She wondered if that was his way of ending the relationship. She had to admit though that it wasn't really his style and he hadn't been the one who had wanted some time off. She had never been in a situation like this and it got more unbearable with every day that passed. She was not able to pick up where they had left though and the problem was that she didn't know why. Since she had found out about the pregnancy she was no longer able to feel like a normal person.

"Hey Cam," Michelle said when she came into the living room and plopped down on the couch beside her.

"Hey Michelle. How was your day?" she asked, having not seen her all day.

"Good, nothing special. Yours?" she replied and got comfortable.

"We solved the murder," Cam said without excitement.

"And you didn't want to solve it? Why are you sounding so depressed?" Michelle picked up on Cam's mood.

"Nah, it was good that we solved it. It's just that... Hodgins was really weird today," Cam shrugged, unsure if she wanted to tell Michelle or not.

"When isn't he weird?" Michelle deadpanned.

"Then of course you're right," Cam grinned.

"No, seriously. What normal guy has three doctorates? Most don't even have one," the teen explained.

"I never really thought about that. The first thing I learned about him is that he likes his crazy experiments."

"Please no details on those I missed. I don't wanna have nightmares again," Michelle requested. "And what was going on today?" she asked then.

"He was running in and out of the lab today, lying to me when I asked him if he needed to leave. And a few minutes ago I tried to call him and he switched off his cell phone," Cam reported.

"Was he in a bad mood? Angry?" Michelle replied.

"No, he seemed to be in a suspiciously good mood, now that I think about it," Cam said and wrinkled her forehead.

"Maybe he has a new girlfriend," Michelle shrugged.

"What? That is not even close to funny," Cam gaped at her.

"It wasn't meant as a joke. I'm being serious," the teen replied and looked Cam in the eyes. She really wasn't joking.

"We're not broken up, Michelle, and Jack wouldn't cheat on me," Cam insisted.

"Then why is he not here and why don't you know where he is? He doesn't come here anymore, he doesn't even call anymore. You two seeing each other at work and talking about particulates is your idea of a relationship?" she pointed out.

"We're taking a break," came the weak reply.

"I told you already that I don't get it. However if I were Jack and the woman who I nearly had a baby with suddenly decided she needed time to think about if she loves me enough to have a future with me I'd be pretty damn pissed," Michelle summed it up.

"It was a mutual decision," Cam tried to say something in her favor.

"That's why he wants to move in with you, marry you and have kids with you? That's why he suddenly says 'Oh let's take a break. I know what I want, but let's just take one for the heck of it.'?!" Michelle replied in a deeper voice.

"Why are you taking sides? And his?"

"Because I think this sucks. He's sad, you're sad and still you can't just give in and have what you both want. And while we're at it: I also think it's weird that I am more upset over you losing the baby than you are. I know, I know, it was an ectopic pregnancy. But still, there could have been a baby..." Michelle trailed off, not sure how far she could go before Cam would explode. Cam didn't say anything however, she just looked down at her hands.

"I don't know what's wrong with me either," she admitted finally.

"Maybe you should talk to Dr. Sweets," Michelle offered more unwanted advice.

"No way. I just need some time, that's all," Cam refused to even discuss it.

"Ok," Michelle nodded. "What are we watching tonight?" she asked then and changed the topic.

"No idea what's on. You decide," Cam smiled gratefully and drank the last few drops of her red wine.

* * *

"To be honest Sweets, I never thought I'd end up in a bar one day with you as my drinking buddy," Hodgins laughed and slapped the psychologists shoulder.

"I guess I should be offended, but somehow I'm not," the younger man shrugged with a good hearted smile and took another sip of his beer. "Dr. Saroyan coming later?" Sweets asked once he had swallowed.

"No, she isn't," Hodgins shook his head and his expression hardened.

"Something wrong?" Sweets asked, already knowing that something was going on. He was a trained psychologist after all and he had picked up on all the little things lately. Hodgins sighed. He knew if he denied it, it would just make Sweets more suspicious.

"We decided that we shouldn't spend as much time together anymore for a while," he told him.

"Do you want to talk about why?" Sweets asked, switching into professional mode.

"I'm not lying on your couch, Sweets, so no," Hodgins replied aggressively and drank some more beer. Sweets remained silent after Hodgins outburst and waited. He could see the wheels turning in Hodgins' head. "You know what... I do want to talk about it. Maybe you can explain to me what the hell is going on. Because honestly, I don't get it anymore," the entomologist finally said.

"Ok, I'm all ears," Sweets said and leaned forward, leaning his arms on the table.

"One more thing: If you tell anyone anything about what I say I will kill you slowly and painfully and then dump your body somewhere it'll never be found," Hodgins threatened darkly and Sweets only nodded again. "Cam was pregnant," Hodgins dropped the bomb and Sweets mouth hung open.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed.

"It was an ectopic pregnancy and she lost the baby before a surgery could be performed," Hodgins went on.

"How did she take it?" Sweets wanted to know.

"She didn't care. She said she was actually relieved she lost the baby," he reported.

"What? Knowing Dr. Saroyan I have trouble believing that," Sweets admitted.

"Tell me about it," Hodgins muttered.

"And then?" Sweets gently prodded for more information.

"She said that she doesn't want to have kids. Not now, not ever. She doesn't want to get married… she wants no family in her future," he said.

"But you want one," Sweets stated.

"More than anything," Hodgins nodded.

"More than Cam herself?" Sweets asked pointedly and Hodgins looked at him like he hadn't understood the question. But Sweets didn't back down and held the eye contact.

"I love her," Hodgins replied and sounded nearly angry.

"I don't doubt that. Still, if she won't adjust her plans for you, you will have to adjust yours. If you can," the psychologist told him what he already knew.

"That's exactly why we decided to spend some time apart so we can think about it," Hodgins replied.

"A very rational decision. Dr. Saroyan came up with it?" Sweets concluded.

"She did. What I don't get is why she just won't have kids. Why can't she see a future for us?" Hodgins asked helplessly.

"I don't know why Dr. Saroyan is feeling the way she does, I would have to talk to her in order to find out. However, I don't think she doesn't see a future for you two. Her future plans just don't involve kids and a wedding. Most likely, if you are able to forget about these things you could be back together in a heartbeat," Sweets explained.

"Maybe I wouldn't be so disappointed if I didn't have the feeling that she secretly wants kids. I mean, have you seen her with Michelle or Parker? She loves kids and she still puts up with her crazy family although they all hate each other's guts." Hodgins fell silent and Sweets didn't say anything either. There was nothing the young psychologist could do as long as he couldn't talk to Cam. And Hodgins simply didn't have an answer yet to the question that he had been asking himself ever since their non-breakup.

* * *

It had been over two weeks since Cam had last been called to a crime scene. And this one had been special for several reasons: Santa had tried to rob a bank and had then exploded, Booth had been an eye-witness and it was the first time since the greasy gamer that she and Hodgins had to work together again.

Ever since he had refused to take her call that one night she hadn't tried calling him again and neither had he tried to call her. They sometimes saw each other at the lab and always exchanged a few words about work and Michelle. They weren't hostile towards each other, just very guarded and each tried to keep himself from getting hurt.

By unspoken agreement, as soon as one of them would make a decision they would talk again, but so far nothing had changed. How long until they would accept that there simply was no common ground for a relationship?

Secretly they were both happy about the case because working together meant seeing each other more. No matter how much it hurt, it was still better seeing each other as co-workers than not seeing each other at all. Cam had worked "normal" autopsies the last two weeks, while Hodgins had done some more studies with his bugs that he had wanted to do for ages. Still, the satisfaction he usually felt working scientifically was lacking completely and more often than not he found himself staring off into space, trying to talk himself into accepting a future without a family.

Finding himself squatting on the ground at a crime scene, just a few feet away from the woman he loved was making him giddy with excitement, especially because her warm smile with which she had greeted him told him that she felt the same way. If this was all they got at the moment, they would gladly take it.

"Hey, oh, what do you got?" Booth wanted to know when he walked up to him.

"Recovering bomb fragments... hey, check this out. Explosives unit guys loaned me these magnetized gloves," Hodgins said excitedly and showed Booth the gloves with the metal fragments sticking to them. "Oh, these are so going on my Christmas list," he grinned, totally refusing to acknowledge the fact that Booth was looking at him like he had lost his mind.

"That stuff there, is that from the bomb, or is that from Santa?" the FBI agent changed the topic back to something that was of interest to him.

"Bomb. Oily pudding residue indicates a homemade emulsion bomb," Hodgins informed him. "Man, you sure you're okay?" he asked him when Booth sighed heavily.

"Fine. 'Kay?" he snapped.

"He says he's fine, but that may just be a function of shock," Brennan provided when she walked up to them.

"I'm fine. You know what, I'm gonna go home, grab a shower and get cleaned up," Booth replied while he walked away.

"No, Booth!" Brennan suddenly yelled.

"I am FINE... will you just stop worrying about me, Bones?" Booth replied annoyed.

"Spinous process!" she replied pointing to his back.

"What? Where? " he asked and tried to look at his own back.

"Yes, indeed, that is a definite chunk of Santa," Hodgins nodded.

"We're gonna need some bags, Cam," Brennan yelled over her shoulder and Hodgins followed her look with his eyes. Cam had turned around as well and when she saw him looking in her direction she grinned.

"No. No, no," Hodgins heard Booth protest and he rolled his eyes at them so Cam could see it.

"I'm sorry, Booth, but you're evidence now," Brennan said just as Cam started laughing about Hodgins silent commentary on the bickering partners. He tried to hide his own laughter and after another second of smiling at each other they both went back to work.

* * *

"Hey stranger, I've got something for you," Hodgins grinned when he walked into Cam's office later in the morning.

"Why do I know it's not an early Christmas present?" Cam joked and looked up from whatever part of Santa she had been analyzing.

"No Christmas this year, Santa just exploded," he shrugged and handed her an evidence tray with something gooey on it.

"A nostril, how nice," she acknowledged when she saw what it was.

"Swapped it earlier and thought since it's flesh it's your domain," he shrugged still with a grin.

"Thank you so much," she laughed quietly and placed the tray on her autopsy table.

"Hey, there's something I wanted to ask you," he said then, now that he had worked up the courage.

"Yes?" she asked.

"I want to get Michelle something for Christmas, but I have no idea what. I thought maybe we could go to lunch together today and you could tell me what you think about my ideas?" he asked hopefully. Sure, they both knew the whole present thing was just an excuse to spend time together, but still he could use some ideas what to get them both.

"I'm sorry I can't today," she said and his face fell. Cam wasn't sure if it was a good idea, but then she spoke before she could stop herself. "I wanted to buy some decorations today during lunch break. But if you like you could come along and we'll grab a burger or something on the way?" she asked, offering him the hand he had been waiting for.

"Sounds good," he nodded, a smile now back on his face.

"Ok. We'll leave around noon?" she asked, mirroring his smile.

"Great. See you later, Dr. Saroyan," he smiled and left the room before he would lose his control, wrap his arms around her and kiss her right there, next to the nostril.

* * *

Shortly before they would have to leave Hodgins walked up to the platform to give Brennan the latest results, so she could work through lunch break as she usually did. Booth was still at the lab sitting dressed only in boxers and socks on a table.

"Hey, Booth?" he asked, his eyes still fixed on his clipboard.

"Yeah?" came the short reply.

"Think I got something here," he said and took two stairs at time.

"Oh, great, join the party," Booth replied sarcastically. When Hodgins looked up because of the unfriendly reply he did a double take at the chest of the agent.

"Dude. Where's your chest hair?" he burst out.

"I'm highly evolved," Booth said.

"His pubic extension is entirely within normal—" Brennan jumped in to defend her partner and to Hodgins relief Booth stopped her before he would hear things he really didn't want to hear.

"Enough. Okay, so what do you got?" Booth said.

"I'm cataloguing bomb components so we can run it through EXIS, the Explosive Incidents System. Bomb makers' signatures are as unique as handwriting. We found this computer chip that sets frequency on a two-way radio, which means this bomb was command-initiated, triggered via electronic signal from the two-way," Hodgins told him and handed the clipboard over.

"Right, that would explain the crackle I heard right before the bomb went off, and there was this voice..." he nodded.

"You know, if Santa had a partner, he was probably monitoring that frequency," Hodgins told him and gave him the frequency a moment later, knowing that they would be able to find it, taking it off his to do list so he and Cam could go out and buy Christmas decorations.

* * *

"Why do you want to buy Michelle something anyway?" Cam asked him as they hurried through the aisles of the decoration store.

"You know, we're friends. I like her... so I want to give her something," he shrugged and stopped quickly to throw some tinsel into the cart.

"I still don't have an idea what to get her. I thought about buying her her own Wii, but I'm not really keen on that idea," she said and pushed the cart further.

"I have one," he said, the 'we don't need two' loudly swinging with his words.

"Jack," Cam sighed, not willing to discuss this now.

"What? Have you already given up on us?" he asked her, his chin clenching. He looked like a kicked puppy.

"No, of course not. It was just an idea and I won't do it. You're right, we don't need two video games," she nodded.

"Don't scare me like this," he requested quietly.

"Sorry," she replied and surprised him by taking his hand in hers hesitantly.

"Nothing to be sorry about. This situation both puts us both on edge," he said, laced his fingers through hers and gave her hand a squeeze. He was rewarded with a tiny smile and once again realized that she was hurting just as much as he was. No matter how angry it made him that she was stubbornly insisting on _not_ having kids and not getting married- it wasn't easy for her, just as it wasn't easy for him. "What do you think about this ginormous gingerbread house?" he asked her to lighten the mood, but didn't let go of her hand.

"Michelle will love it!" she smiled. "Andrew always bought a smaller one and she would have fun eating half of it before Christmas day," Cam laughed at the memory. Hodgins smile got pained, because he knew that if he stayed with her and she wasn't able to change her mind, he would never have memories like this of his own kids.

As they drove back to the Institute, Cam opened her mouth several times to speak until she found the courage to say what was on her mind.

"Has Brennan invited you over for Christmas as well?" she asked him.

"Yes, but I won't be able to make it," he replied without taking his eyes off the road.

"Oh, you have other plans?" she asked quietly.

"I booked a trip to Aspen. I used to go there when I was still single and this year... I don't feel like sitting alone at home for the holidays," he informed her and glanced over at her, only to find her looking out the window.

"You could have come over," she admitted, because she had hoped he would.

"And do what Cam? Take a break from the break?" he asked her, without his usual anger. He seemed calm and collected but let glimpses show of how much he was hurting. She knew anyway. She felt the same. "You know I want to be with you and nothing would make me happier than spending the holidays with you and Michelle. But you have to understand that while you still have Michelle and that crazy family of yours, once I go back home, all I have is an empty house that's waiting for me. I will miss you two enough already with some kind of distraction, but seeing what I'll maybe never really have.... I can't do it, I'm sorry," he said.

"I wish I could change how I feel about... you know. But I can't. Just the thought is making me panic."

"How about we are friends and colleagues for now. We stop avoiding each other, because that sucks more than anything. I miss talking to you, babe. And first thing we'll do in the new year is met and talk. That'll be our deadline, ok?" he asked her. He knew he would feel better just knowing when this torture would be over.

"Ok," she nodded but didn't sound too happy about it. He was right though. It had been several weeks already and they still weren't any closer to resolving their issues than in the beginning.

"So you are going to spend Christmas Eve at Brennan's?" he asked to change the topic.

"Yes. I have to be at my dad's place the day after that though. There's no way to escape them," she replied.

"I'm sure Michelle loves it," he laughed.

"She's thrilled," she nodded and had to laugh as well.

"But besides that I think I will just try to keep Michelle from falling into a hole. It's her first Christmas without her dad. And he always made a big deal out of Christmas, with decorations, traditions, watching Christmas movies. The whole shebang," she smiled at the memory.

"Ah, that's why you need all those decorations," he replied and pointed quickly to all the stuff that covered the whole backseat of his car.

* * *

"Would it be wrong to stay in bed all day and have sex?" was the first thing Cam heard Daisy say when she walked into the bone room. "_Why always me?"_ she thought and decided to say something before she heard more gruesome details.

"Yes, it would. And what is with everybody today? " she told them when she saw Sweets was in the room as well.

"We were just discussing holiday plans," Sweets said innocently.

"Oh. Did Dr. Brennan ask you about Christmas dinner? " Cam replied and tried to stay away from the sex talk.

"She did. I said it wouldn't be a Christmas dinner unless it occurred in March," Daisy offered.

"Interesting. Clear off, Sweets. We have to ID our Christmas-in-December bomber," Cam said, though not without flinching at the strangeness of the squint by her side.

"Bye, Lancelot. Colon, end bracket, colon, capital D!" Daisy chirped.

"Semicolon, end parentheses, "less than" sign, numeral three," Sweets replied and made the according gestures.

"Colon, capital P" Daisy replied and unintentionally made Cam snap and lose her patience as well as the control over the words that came out of her mouth.

"Oh, dear God. I'm gonna yak," she deadpanned and at that Sweets finally left her alone with his nutty girlfriend so she could present her the newest findings.

* * *

Later that afternoon Cam was working on her computer. Officially she was doing the paperwork that went with all of their findings, unofficially she was surfing the net checking out the different houses she had found when she had googled Hodgins and his family estates. When she suddenly heard steps she quickly closed the browser and turned around, finding Michelle standing there.

"Hey," the teen greeted her.

"Hey, I was just thinking of you," Cam smiled when she saw the girl.

"Oh, my God, what did you buy?" Michelle laughed when she saw the stuff that was now standing on Cam's desk.

"Gingerbread house, talking reindeer, peppermint bark... I went a little crazy. I know how much your dad loved Christmas," Cam grinned guiltily.

"You didn't get my present, did you?" Michelle wanted to know.

"Still working on that," she had to admit.

"Good. 'Cause I know what I want... Hawaii. The Big Island," Michelle said.

"That would be hard to wrap," Cam grinned, not really knowing where she was going with this.

"No, I want to go there for Christmas. Please don't say no, Cam. Please.," the teen begged and gave her her patented puppy eyes that rarely failed their purpose.

"That sounds fantastic, but I only have a couple days off," Cam grinned, relieved that maybe she would get out of all her obligations and could distract herself with a nice vacation, far away from anything Hodgins related.

"Not with you. With Paris's family. Her mom and dad invited me," Michelle shattered her hopes as quickly as she had built them.

"They did?" this was the first time she was hearing about this.

"I know it's totally last minute, but I found a cheap flight, and the hotel is covered, and all I have to do is pack shorts and bathing suits," Michelle went on and the excitement was back in her voice as she was telling the details.

"You... really... thought this through," Cam replied, still processing everything.

"If I stay, it's just the two of us, and that's depressing," Michelle replied and Cam had troubles not to gasp aloud. Michelle was fleeing because Hodgins wouldn't be around? Sure, it would be hard for her without Hodgins on Christmas. And Michelle would still grieve for her father. It would be depressing, for both of them, she realized.

"You really want to go? It's that important to you? " she asked her.

"It's important to me. And this way you can do what you usually do at Christmas instead of worrying about me," Michelle said.

"Oh, you're not a worry. You...," Cam immediately said, but Michelle sighed and pouted and she realized that from Michelle's point of view flying away to Hawaii was probably the easiest way out of all her troubles. "If that's what you want, then of course you can go," she decided.

"Thank you!" Michelle exclaimed and rushed to Cam and hugged her. Cam was able to keep her smile on her face for a second and put it back on when Michelle pulled back upon hearing Hodgins' voice.

"Hey, Michelle," he sounded happy to see her and had a large smile on his face.

"Hi, Dr. Hodgins," she replied in her usual way.

"Mind if I steal her away?" he asked Michelle but glanced at Cam, seeing the fake smile on her face.

"She's all yours," the teen replied nonchalantly and hurried out of the lab with a wave. She was barely out the door when Cam sighed and her smile fell.

"You're ok?" Hodgins asked her and stepped forward. He reached out and gently picked at her bangs, arranging her hair in a slightly different way.

"Michelle will spend Christmas in Hawaii," she told him and looked up.

"Oh," he replied. "That sucks."

"I had to let her go. Maybe she'll be less sad with her friend's family in Hawaii than alone here with me," she shrugged and got up.

"Or she'll be even sadder, because she'll be with strangers while her own family, who loves her, will be sitting all alone here in D.C.," Hodgins replied and placed a hand on her lower back, ushering her out of her office.

"Now I've said yes and I have to let her go," Cam admitted.

"Until she's on that plane it's never too late," he told her and led her into the bone room where Daisy was already waiting.

* * *

A day later they were still working the same case and Hodgins realized that he wouldn't make his flight. He had called the flight agency and had pushed his flight back two days, so he would be able to take it either way.

He had also informed Brennan that he would spend Christmas Eve with the rest of the team and her family at her place. This gave him the opportunity to keep an eye on Cam that night and see how she would be doing without Michelle. He already tried talking himself out of it, but deep inside he knew that if she was too sad he would stay in D.C. and spend his Christmas vacation trying to cheer her up- even if it was just as a friend- until Michelle came back.

Besides his personal things he had also worked on some of the particulates found at the crime scene.

"We ran the details of the bomb against the EXIS database. It's an identical match for a number of devices all built by the same man," Cam told Booth as she and Hodgins had contacted him via video conference.

"A guy named Malaki Wallace," Hodgins went on and with a few clicks showed Booth the files on the screen.

"He got busted in the '90s for robbing a Western Union office," Cam went on providing the more personal facts about the guy.

"And using an emulsion bomb with a light bulb initiator," Hodgins told the more scientific things.

"Okay, anything more current? " Booth asked.

"No. He's been dormant since he got out of prison," Cam replied in the negative and shook her head. She was unaware of the fact that Hodgins inhaled deeply when the scent of her shampoo filled his nostrils.

"Prison? " Booth sounded surprised.

"Yeah. And it looks like he came back with a bang," Cam said and at Hodgins' look, that told _her_ for once that it was inappropriate, she just shrugged and grinned, then ended the video conference.

"You and your quips," he grinned once he was sure Booth couldn't hear them anymore.

"What? That one was basically screaming to be said out loud," she laughed and he had to laugh with her. They looked at each other, still laughing, and their eyes locked. After all these weeks it was the first time they didn't feel the awkwardness that had been present between them ever since their on-break up. It seemed as if the spark was back, although they knew the situation was still unresolved, so they simply enjoyed the telling looks that passed between them.

"I should go back to work," Hodgins said then, a smile still on his face.

"If we ever want to get out of here, we both should," she replied and turned to leave. It was the moment she walked away from him when she realized that no matter how crappy things were between them or what else was going on in her life, with him she was always happier than without him.

* * *

"Oh, you looked peeved," Angela remarked when she ran into Cam later that day.

"I went to wash my hands just now, but there was no soap in the dispenser. It had to be...," she pointed out, because missing soap and bathroom together clearly screamed Hodgins. So she was marching into his office, already having a suspicion what was going on. "Hodgins," she called when she stepped over the threshold, her voice warning him that she wasn't in the best mood anymore.

"Hey," he greeted her sheepishly and didn't miss her mouth falling open when he turned around and she could see that he was wearing a bomb-type contraption similar to that of the bomber. "Uh, you look irked," he added but didn't get any reply from her. Instead she kept staring in horror at him, with her mouth still hanging open.

"She's mad about the soap," Angela translated for him when Cam kept staring.

"Your analysis of the emulsion bomb included detergent," Cam was finally able to speak, although the unbelieving expression was still on her face.

"You didn't actually get permission to recreate the bomb, did you?" Angela asked him.

"Oh, my God," Cam gasped when it registered with her that he had really built a bomb in her lab and had even strapped himself into it. This was a new kind of crazy, even for him. She had never pegged him for the suicidal kind of guy.

"I needed to do this so that Angela could recreate the explosion," he explained.

"You told him that?" Cam immediately turned on Angela.

"No, no, don't let him turn this around on me," the artist protested.

"I do not want an explosive device in my lab," Cam told Hodgins and spoke slowly and clearly so he would get the message. Although knowing him, she was aware that she could tattoo it on his forehead and he still would do the exact same thing again the next time.

"Relax, I did not connect the initiator..." he said and cut one of the wires.

"No!" Cam said in shock and was really scared for a second that he would blow himself up.

"It is perfectly safe," he said patiently and realized that it felt good that she was worried about his safety.

"What's that?" Cam asked him, pointing to the residue on the tips of his fingers.

"It's antimony sulfide. It's fine on its own. It's perfectly harmless. The bomber used it in the detonating charge," he shrugged.

"Hodgins is very authentic when it comes to his reconstructions," Angela grinned.

"We have to pull the evidence trays," Cam said suddenly and ran out of his lab. For a second he and Angela exchanged a puzzled look. He knew that she had just found something and quickly took off the vest and followed her, Angela hot on his heels.

"Give me a clue here, guys. What are we looking for?" Angela asked after they had put all the evidence boxes onto the platform.

"It's H11209, biological evidence from witness Georgia Hartmeyer," Cam said after checking the papers for what she was looking for.

"Oh, got it. It's her fingernail," Hodgins said when he found the box and opened it.

"I thought it was just blast residue, but that stain's definitely on the inside," Cam explained while Hodgins took out the fingernail clip, swapped it and then licked the Q-tip. Both Angela and Cam scrunched up their faces in disgust.

"Did you have to do that?" Cam asked him and thought to herself that she surely would not kiss him again until he brushed his teeth... not that they were kissing at the moment, she remembered a moment later.

"It's metallic and sweet. That is definitely antimony sulfide," Hodgins ignored her complaint.

"And it couldn't have gotten there unless she helped assemble the bomb," Cam concluded and the other two nodded in agreement.

* * *

That Wednesday night Cam and Michelle were on their way to the airport. Cam tried to be cool about Michelle flying off, but she couldn't get Jack's words out of her head. She wasn't sure if she was being egotistic and she didn't want to be. However what message would it send to Michelle if she just let her go? One should fight for the ones you love and she wanted to do that, even if it was just about having her around for Christmas.

"You're being quiet. I promise to text 85 times a day," Michelle said when she noticed the pensive mood Cam was in. She had seen her like this a lot recently, even more since she had announced that she wanted to spend Christmas with a friend. She was surprised when Cam pulled over. "Why are you stopping?" she asked her.

"I don't want you to go to Hawaii," Cam blurted out in her usual clumsy way. She was always like this when she had to get things off her chest.

"You're changing your mind?" Michelle became angry right away.

"You and me... we're the closest thing we have to family," Cam told her as she tried to find the right words.

"You can't just change your mind," Michelle protested and didn't want to hear the rest of her speech.

"And family spends Christmas together. We're spending Christmas together," Cam went on.

"You're serious?! " the teen screeched.

"If I let you go, you're gonna have a good time...," Cam added.

"What's wrong with that?!" Michelle asked, not understanding what her legal guardian was getting at.

"Everything. because that's what we'll be to each other, just two people who don't spend Christmas together," Cam said, still not finding the right words to make Michelle understand.

"So you want to be two people who spend Christmas together but one of them is really, really mad?" Michelle asked with an attitude.

"I know deep down you care," Cam replied."I just hope not too deep down," she added quieter.

"Can we at least talk about this?" Michelle asked and tried to calm down. She wanted Cam to understand why she couldn't stay in D.C. The matter wasn't up for discussion anymore though.

"No. It's my job to prove to you every day that you are loved in this world. And if doing that makes you angry...," Cam spoke from her heart and didn't care anymore how it sounded.

"It makes me furious!" Michelle threw in with tears in her eyes.

"Well, then that's the price I pay. But you will know beyond a doubt that I can't just let you go flying off and not have it absolutely ruin my Christmas," Cam said and halted for a second, not sure if she should say the words that were on the tip of her tongue. They would reveal how messed up everything was at the moment and she had yet to admit to Michelle that she wasn't as ok and optimistic as she pretended to be. The words spilled out. "Because right now, the way things are, there's... no Christmas without you." It was all she could do to hold back the tears. She looked down to her hands and felt Michelle's eyes on her, before she looked away with a sigh. She missed the slight eye roll of the teen, who understood, that if she would leave now, Cam would be all alone for Christmas, without either of the two most important people in her life. If Hodgins was there she might let her go, because he would be able to cheer her up, but without him... Michelle understood suddenly that Cam needed someone who loved her now, someone to be there and be with her, while everything else seemed to be falling apart.

When she had her feelings under control again Cam looked at her daughter and waited until Michelle met her eyes again. She was more than surprised when Michelle leaned over and hugged her. Cam closed her eyes and enjoyed it, the feeling of loneliness that had been ever-present since her and Hodgins non-break-up vanished for these few seconds.

Michelle might not understand why Cam and Hodgins were broken up, but she could see every day how much Cam was hurting and it made her sad seeing her usually so strong legal guardian vulnerable and on the brink of tears.

"I love you, too," Michelle said after she had pulled back and smiled as Cam smiled back. The teen felt like she needed to finally tell her again, after all these years. Cam made it obvious and showed her that she loved her and now it was time for her to finally say it out loud, that she loved her too. That she was there for her. And would always be, no matter what. Cam wouldn't be alone anymore.

* * *

After this interlude it even made sense to Michelle that they started Christmas Eve with going to a funeral.

"Nobody should be alone for Christmas," Michelle said when they walked over the cemetery. She was still shaken by what she had just witnessed. Seeing the mother bury her only son all alone on Christmas had touched all of them and they knew it had been right to come.

"I agree," Hodgins, who was walking with them to the exit, said quietly.

"Hey Cam, would you mind if we, you know... said hi to Dad," Michelle asked next and stepped closer to her mother.

"Of course not," Cam smiled encouragingly at her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"Ok, I'll go then and see you tonight at Dr. B's," Hodgins shrugged and pointed in the direction of the exit.

"Can't you come? I would like to introduce you. After all you helped find out who killed my dad and I'm sure he appreciates it," Michelle told him and he looked at Cam and questioningly raised an eyebrow, but only got a shrug in reply.

"Uhm, sure," he said hesitatingly and followed them to the grave where Dr. Andrew Welton was buried.

"Hey Dad," Michelle said when they reached the white gravestone. "Maria Welton 1967-1993, beloved mother and wife. Andrew Welton 1964-2009, beloved father and husband." the inscription said and it struck Jack as strange that Michelle didn't address her mother. "I just wanted to say Merry Christmas. And I want you to meet someone. This is Dr. Jack Hodgins, he helped find out what happened to you. And he's a really nice guy," she said and then walked back to Cam, her eyes brimming with tears. "Thank you for sending me Cam, Dad," she said then and wrapped her arms around Cam's arm and leaned her head against her shoulder. Cam didn't say anything, but just kissed her forehead. They stood there for a moment longer and looked at the stone, each lost in their own thoughts. "Ok, we can go now," Michelle said bravely. She linked her arm through Hodgins as they walked away from her parents' grave. They turned two corners when Hodgins suddenly stopped.

"While we're here anyway... Could you two do me a favor and come with me?" he asked them and they both nodded and let him lead them to a crypt that was standing right in front of them. It looked like a small chapel and one could see the names of the ones buried inside only through an iron fence. He didn't say anything and neither did he step away from Michelle. He just stood there and looked inside, seemed to be deep in thought. Cam and Michelle saw that the inside of the open chapel was decorated with lots of exotic flowers.

"In loving memory of Michael Stanley Hodgins June 1936- December 1993 and Elin Lisbeth Hodgins October 1950- December 1993- _Requiescant in pace."_ The latest and most decorated inscription said and upon reading it Cam walked over to Hodgins other side and took his hand in hers. He sighed deeply and then looked up, gave them both a shaky smile.

"I think we should leave. I don't think our parents would want us to spend our Christmas here of all places," he said and this time they walked directly to their cars.

"He was only two years older than me when he lost his parents," Michelle said as she and Cam drove back to their place.

"I know," Cam replied, still deeply affected by their morning at the cemetery.

"What happened?" Michelle wanted to know.

"Car crash a few days before Christmas. Icy roads...." she trailed off.

"Did he have anyone to look after him?" the teen asked.

"No, he didn't. He's been alone ever since," Cam replied with a sigh.

"Poor Dr. H.," Michelle just said and Cam nodded, suddenly feeling like she had abandoned him.

* * *

In a much lighter mood they all met at Brenna's place that night to celebrate Christmas Eve.

"What happened to the 'down with Christmas, let's hump like bunnies' thing?" Cam asked Sweets while Daisy and Michelle were standing directly next to them. She had told the anecdote to Michelle already anyway, so she didn't even flinch now.

"I'm not here for baby Jesus; I'm here for Agent Booth," Sweets replied.

"Ah, that explains the antlers," Cam grinned.

"It was a moment of whimsy," the young psychologist replied.

"They look good on you, Dr. Sweets," Michelle complimented.

"Thank you," Sweets replied with a smile.

Hodgins had been watching them from across the room and decided to get himself some eggnog. He felt creepy watching her, yet he hadn't seen her like this in over a month. She seemed relaxed, her hair was down and she wore one of the soft sweaters that made her look even more beautiful. He was just pouring himself a cup when Angela walked up to him.

"Hey," they greeted each other and Hodgins handed her a cup.

"Thanks. So you think that we should feel like big, giant losers that we're not spending Christmas with family?" she asked him and the question sounded strange to him. He hadn't told her about his problems with Cam and he suspected that neither had Cam. What was she getting at, he wondered.

"There's more than one kind of family," he replied with a smile and glanced over to where Cam and Michelle were standing.

"Merry Christmas, Hodgins," Angela smiled back and they clicked their glasses against each other.

"Merry Christmas, Angela," he replied and they both took a sip of their eggnog. "Let's go and join the others?" he asked her.

"Sure, just one quick question... and I don't mean to intrude or anything, but we're friends and as a friend I just need to ask: Are you and Cam alright? I couldn't help but notice some... tension. And not the good kind," she said quietly and made him sigh.

"I hope we will be Ange, that's all I can say right now," he told her honestly.

"If you ever need someone to talk to, you know where to find me," she replied and placed a hand on his arm. "More than one kind of family, remember," she smiled and he nodded. With this silent agreement they joined Cam, Michelle, Sweets and Daisy, who were all waiting for dinner.

* * *

It was late when they all left and in the end there were only Hodgins, Cam and Michelle left in the dark parking space beside Brennan's house. Angela, Sweets, Daisy and Booth had all already driven off, after saying goodbye and wishing them a Merry Christmas.

"When will you leave?" Cam asked him and stuck her hands in the pockets of her jacket.

"Early morning. My flight leaves at 5 am, so I'll probably leave around three," he said and mirrored her stance. An uncomfortable silence started when they just looked at each other for a moment.

"Merry Christmas Dr. Hodgins," Michelle was the one to break it and hugged him. He hugged her back and was surprised when she placed a kiss on his cheek.

"Merry Christmas Michelle," he said before they stepped back. "Enjoy your presents and don't eat too much candy," he added with a smile.

"And you don't break anything," she told him.

"I'll pay attention. Greet Perry for me as well," he added, remembering her boyfriend fondly.

"Cam, if you give me the key I'll wait in the car," Michelle said then and held her hand out for the car key. She obviously didn't want to witness the scene that would surely be following. Cam dug it out of her handbag and they both watched Michelle walk off to the car. She waved at Hodgins, who waved back and then got into the vehicle.

"I'm happy for you that Michelle will be around for Christmas," he said when Cam finally looked at him again.

"Yeah, me too. I'm relieved she took it so well," she replied. Michelle had talked to Hodgins most of the evening and she had already told him that Cam had decided at the last minute that she wouldn't let her go.

"Have a Merry Christmas you two," he said finally and with a sad little smile.

"You, too, Jack," she said and even in the darkness he saw her chin and lips quivering as she tried to hold back the tears.

"Come here," he said and wrapped his arms around her a second later. She returned the hug and placed her head on his shoulder.

"Take care, ok? Don't ski while you're drunk and don't break anything," Cam said after a while and raised her head to look at him.

"And you take your medication and let Michelle drive after you meet your family," he replied and tried a little smile.

"I miss you, Jack," she said and placed a hand on his cheek, caressing him with her thumb.

"I miss you, too. We'll talk when I get back," he said and allowed himself to bury one hand in her long curls.

"Is it ok if I call you on New Year's Eve?" she wanted to know, because the thought had occurred to her earlier that day.

"I'll be waiting for it," he smiled and pulled her close by her waist. They both kept looking into each other's eyes while their faces neared, but when their lips touched they had to close them in reaction to the torrent of emotions that suddenly rushed through them. For the first time in weeks they both felt whole again and realized that the magic between them was probably stronger than ever. They deepened the kiss and clung to each other like their life depended on it. Jack tried to find a way to sneak his hand beneath her coat and get at least a touch of her warm skin, but the jacket she wore didn't allow it. They broke apart when the need for oxygen made them and even then they rested their foreheads against each other and enjoyed the closeness they had denied themselves for over a month. The white puffs of their breath danced in between their faces.

"Take care, babe," he finally sighed and stepped back from her. He knew he had to leave as long as he was still able to or he would fall to his knees and beg her to let him stay with her for the holidays at least.

"Call when you arrive so I know you're alright," she said, and pecked his lips one last time before she walked over to her car with a last wave. Hodgins remained standing in the parking lot until the backlights of her BMW weren't visible any more. Then he walked to his own car and drove home to get his bags.

**TBC**


	11. Chapter 11

Thanks again to Gianna for betaing. Anyone already saw the episode 5.20? I don't know if I ever get there with this story, but if I do, believe me I know how to twist it.

Also, me and some other authors noticed that is suddenly messing up our scene breaks. I will fix it in the new chapters I post, but I honestly don't have the time to go through all old chapters and add scene breaks. Hopefully they'll be able to fix it soon.

* * *

**Chapter 11: Undisclosed desires- how great thou art**

When Hodgins arrived at the Aspen-Pitkin County airport it was still early morning. The time difference of two hours was a good thing though, because once he reached his house he could sleep until he had to get up to ski.

His family had always had their own car parked in the parking garage at the airport which usually saved time, but it took him a while to find it since there was no valet to assist him. He had informed the staff a week earlier that he would be coming and he knew that everything would be waiting for him.

He got into the car and as soon as he turned the key in the ignition the CD player started as well as the engine and he finally found out where his Muse CD had been all the time. He pulled out of the garage and onto the road that would lead directly to his house in the mountains. He tried to rub the sleep from his eyes and pumped up the volume some more, singing along with the lyrics in order to wake himself up.

"I know you suffered, but I don't want you to hide. It's cold and loveless, I won't let you be denied. Soothe me, I'll make you feel pure. Trust me, you can be sure. I want to reconcile the violence in your heart. I want to recognize your beauty is not just a mask. I want to exorcise the demons from your past. I want to satisfy the undisclosed desires in your heart," he sang off-tune, but as loud as he could. He pressed shuffle once the song was over and enjoyed one of his favorite CDs while he drove up the mountain. He arrived at his house four songs later and pulled into the driveway. Snow was covering the ground and he couldn't even see the tire tracks of his employers who had surely been there. He took his bag out with him and hurried into the warm house. A fire was crackling in the fireplace, warming up the entree and living room.

The rug in front of the fireplace caught his eyes and he remembered a talk he'd had with Cam a while ago when he had told her and Michelle that he would bring them here. Together they had joked and come up with the idea that they could roast marshmallows in the fire, while sitting in front of it on the old rug, just like he had done as a kid. He sighed and walked over to his childhood bedroom. There was still only a single bed in there and he was already suspecting that he would fall out more than once. However he couldn't bring himself to sleep in the main bedroom. The huge double bed would only remind him every night and every morning how alone he felt. His childhood room reminded him of happier times instead.

* * *

Cam awoke with a start the next morning when someone bounced up and down on her bed. That someone was of course Michelle, who grinned widely when Cam finally opened her eyes with a groan.

"Merry Christmas," the teen chirped and Cam realized that she wore a red Santa hat and pajamas that had Christmas trees on them.

"Go back to bed," Cam grumbled and closed her eyes again. She didn't feel rested in the least, because she had barely slept all night. She had fallen asleep maybe three hours before Michelle had jumped onto her bed.

"Come on, you wanted me around for Christmas, now you have to deal with the consequences. It's Christmas morning! Present time!" she grinned and rang the tine bell that was attached to her Santa hat.

"Stop it," Cam said and threw one of her pillows in the general direction of Michelle, but missed her by far.

"Hey!" Michelle complained anyway and hit Cam straight in the face with another pillow.

"I should have shipped you off to Timbuktu!" Cam told her, finally opened her eyes and took the pillow out of Michelle's hands.

"Aren't you nice this morning?" Michelle just laughed. "Maybe this will appease you?" she asked, reached down and showed Cam a steaming mug of coffee.

"Ah, now we're talking," Cam grinned and went to take it. Her daughter held it out of reach though and slowly got out of bed.

"I'll give it to you when you get up. There's more out there on the table," she enticed Cam.

"You're evil," Cam told her and pointed with one finger to her face, but then slowly sat up and got out of bed. She walked into the bathroom and grabbed her bathrobe, because she was cold and then followed Michelle out into the living room. "How long have you been up?" she asked her when she saw the illuminated Christmas tree in the corner and the breakfast on the table, complete with fresh fruits, pancakes and hash browns.

"About an hour," Michelle shrugged and finally handed her the coffee.

"You know that your presents are already bought, so no need to bribe me with breakfast," Cam grinned as they sat down at the table.

"I know, but maybe I need the bribe for something else?" the teen replied and handed the pancakes over to Cam.

"For what? Just spill it," Cam rolled her eyes.

"Perry's parents asked me to come over tomorrow night for dinner. Would that be ok?" she asked warily.

"Sure. As long as you're still coming along tonight to my family," Cam nodded.

"Please don't ruin this morning for me," Michelle replied.

"I would rather stay home as well, but we don't have to stay long," Cam said and tried to play it cool.

"You say that every time and then we're stuck there for hours because they don't let us leave."

"Don't worry. They won't pry on you tonight. The fact that Jack isn't coming along will be enough to have all of their attention on me tonight. As long as there isn't a new kid or spouse around somewhere," came the reply.

"What will you tell them about Jack?" Michelle wanted to know.

"That he's skiing and couldn't cancel the trip," Cam shrugged.

"You think they'll buy it?"

"They wouldn't believe me even if it actually was the truth, so it doesn't really matter," Cam sighed and drank the rest of her coffee and took another pancake.

"Some fruit salad?" Michelle asked when she helped herself to some.

"No, thanks. Maybe later after we open the presents?" Cam asked her.

"Oh, so you are curious," Michelle laughed and followed Cam over to the Christmas tree.

"Of course I am," Cam said and picked up the first present that she could reach. It read "Michelle" so she handed it to her, already knowing that a pink pullover would be inside.

"I put yours over there," Michelle said and pointed to the other side of the tree. Cam walked over and found several packages lying underneath the Christmas tree for her. Following her own tradition she picked up the smallest package and opened it carefully. She would work her way up with the sizes and open the biggest one last. As a kid the biggest one had always meant the best present and even as an adult she kept opening present that way.

She found a black box when she tore away the paper and she carefully opened it. She found a note on top of yet another box and looked curiously in Michelle's direction. The teen wasn't paying her any attention though because she was too busy unwrapping her own things.

_Hi Baby_

_I write this two weeks before Christmas and I can't know today if we will have resolved our issues by Christmas or not. I pray to God we have. If we haven't and I'm not here today, then know that I love you, no matter what. I want you in my life, no matter what the outcome of this will be. I just can't lose you. You will find a normal present, that I bought quite a while ago and you will find a set of keys. I know you still have my spare key, but I want you to have your own. Use it whenever you want, and if you happen to move in while I'm not home... I'm only half joking. I wish you a Merry Christmas and no matter where I am today remember that I love you. I really do._

_Lots of love_

_Jack_

_P.S. Don't kill the messenger (meaning Michelle). She didn't know what was in here, but will get her own set of keys as soon as she opens her box._

Cam looked up and checked if Michelle was still busy with her own presents before she wiped the tears away from her cheeks. She lifted the lid of the next box and found a set of keys in there. They were purple and the key chain had a silver heart as a pendant. "Couldn't help myself" the note underneath said and Cam had to laugh, beside her sadness. She placed both the keys and the second note on the floor beside her and opened the next box. Inside she found a white gold necklace and the matching earrings, both held small diamonds.

"Cam, look! Dr. Hodgins gave me pink keys," Michelle giggled while Cam was still staring at the jewelry.

"I have purple ones," Cam replied with a small smile and held up her keys. When Michelle looked at her she saw the tear tracks on Cam's face.

"He asked me to bring the presents home when I last went over to his place. I hope you're not mad," Michelle apologized and placed an arm around Cam's shoulders.

"I'm not mad," Cam shook her head and showed Michelle the necklace and the earrings.

"Oh Lordy, they look expensive!" Michelle exclaimed and touched the necklace with her fingertips.

"They sure do. Maybe I should buy a safe after all," Cam smiled. "And what did you get besides the keys? Knowing Jack that can't be all."

"I got..." Michelle got up and brought the box over. "A brand new iPhone," she grinned then and clapped her hands excitedly after she had handed Cam the phone.

"Crazy guy," Cam muttered while she went through the many accessories Hodgins had bought for the phone and added to the present. A $100 gift certificate for iTunes, some plastic stuff to prevent scratches on the display, a pink Hello Kitty shell for the phone with Michelle's name engraved, earphones, a picture frame that could play songs from the phone and show the pictures... he had really gone all out.

"Did you unwrap the rest of your stuff yet?" Michelle asked.

"No, just this one so far," Cam said, put the phone aside and opened the other boxes. She found a gift certificate for the bookstore and a Cooking for Dummies book, before she unwrapped the biggest box. Inside she found a large scrap book. "Wow, I didn't even know you still had all these pictures. I thought your dad had destroyed them," Cam said when she saw the pictures of her and Michelle from ten years back.

"I had the pictures the whole time. Dad didn't even know," the teen grinned.

"Thank you," Cam said, obviously touched, and hugged Michelle.

* * *

~*~  
Meanwhile in Aspen Hodgins had just come back from his early morning skiing adventure. He was just as curious as he had been as a kid when it came to his presents and he had made sure to bring the ones he had got, so he could open them.

He sat down in the living room and opened the bag with his presents. His curiosity getting the best of him, he opened the one he had gotten from Michelle first. Sure, he was more curious what Cam had got him, but he knew no matter what it was it would put him in a foul mood. He found a new Wii sports game when he ripped the paper open and had to laugh at the note the teen had attached. "_One more game, I'll kick your a**. Love Michelle_".

From Angela he had got a new computer program to catalogue his soil samples and Sweets had given him woolen socks, which left him a bit confused. He knew Maria had sent him chocolates again, so he left that package closed and finally opened Cam's present with a heavy sigh. In a simple silver frame sat the picture they had taken during their short vacation. It showed them lying in their shorts and shirts on one of the deck chairs, his arms wrapped around her waist and his chin resting on her shoulder while they both smiled in the camera that she held. He hadn't seen the shot before, but besides the fact that their faces were too close to the camera their happiness had been captured very well. He kept looking for a note but couldn't find one. However, he knew there was no telling when she had wrapped this, or if she had even intended to still give it to him. Michelle had brought it over and knowing the meddling and nosy ways of the teen, anything was possible. Maybe he shouldn't even have this.

His cell phone beeped and brought him out of his thoughts. He had gotten a text message and opened it. "Thank you so much. Love you too" the short message said and he knew that Cam had got his presents. He had sent her a message earlier that day, informing her that he had arrived safely, but until now she hadn't answered. He thought about calling her but then dismissed it. He switched off his cell phone, knowing that he surely wouldn't forget about his problems if he kept talking to her on the phone while he was here.

With another sigh he got up, placed the picture of them on the mantle and then left the house again. He got into his car to drive back to the slope. The shuffle was still activated and he found himself singing along to the same Muse song, as he had earlier this morning. "You take your lovers that you're wicked and divine. You may be a sinner but your innocence is mine. Please me, show me how it's done. Tease me. You are the one."

* * *

"You really should have warned me about them before you asked me to move in with you," Michelle grumbled while they waited for the door to open.

"Why? Would you have chosen the cousin in Chicago?" Cam asked her with raised eyebrows.

"Never, but I would have requested more pocket money," Michelle grinned and nudged Cam's shoulder with her own.

"There are my girls," Cam's father gushed before he enveloped them both in a bone crushing hug and then ushered them inside.

"Merry Christmas," they both said and took off their coats, scarves and hats.

"Where is that Hodgins guy?" Her father asked when he had checked the door again and hadn't found him outside.

"Jack had booked a ski trip a while ago and he couldn't cancel. He told me to pass along greetings," Cam lied and Michelle looked impressed by how natural that lie slipped over Cam's lips. She didn't even blink.

"Choosing a ski trip over family on Christmas...tsk," her father snorted and led them into the living room.

"Good afternoon everyone," Cam greeted the usual crowd.

"That Hodgins guy is skiing," her father told everyone and of course everyone had something to say about that. Cam looked helplessly at Michelle who just rolled her eyes.

"Is he even still in the picture?" Felicia didn't let the opportunity to tease her sister slide.

"Of course he is, Felicia," Cam sighed and got herself a glass of booze.

"I'm just concerned about you, honey," Felicia replied with a fake smile, but the death stare Michelle gave her caused the smile to freeze on her face and then wander off with one quirked eyebrow.

"Camille, I was really looking forward to meeting your billionaire, after I missed him at your dad's birthday," her aunt said next.

"Sorry," Cam just replied, not willing to discuss this any further.

"I even bought him a present! Socks, one always needs socks," her great aunt called from the arm chair and Cam pasted a fake smile on her face and nodded.

Michelle stood back while Cam's family kept asking about Hodgins and wondered what it was with these people that they couldn't see how sad they made her and how hurt she was. It was written all over her face and when they started recounting tales about Jack's one and only visit to the Saroyan house her eyes welled up with tears and Michelle knew she had to do something. If Cam lost her composure around them, they would be all over her, like hyenas on a rotting corpse.

"Cam, can you show me that picture you were talking about? You know the one your mother painted?" Michelle said for lack of a better excuse, but knew as she said it that throwing Cam's mom into the mix was probably not the wisest decision.

"Did Jack say anything about whom he liked better? Me or Anna?" her aunt asked, but Cam ignored her and led Michelle up the stairs without saying another word, because she knew the shaking in her voice would give her away.

"Thanks Michelle," Cam said when they reached one of the guestrooms upstairs.

"If they were my family I'd shoot myself," Michelle grumbled.

"Sorry to say this honey, but they kind of are," Cam replied and managed to smile a bit.

Michelle flinched and then laughed when she heard the screams from downstairs when once again two of Cam's relatives had managed to make the Christmas tree fall over.

"Come on, I wanna see this," Michelle said and dragged Cam back downstairs. While she watched the relatives trying to set up the tree again, Cam sat beside her, pushed the cake on her plate from one side to the other and wished she were home.

* * *

Later that night Cam slipped outside in the backyard without anyone noticing. It was cold out and she could see her breath coming out in white puffs. Her jacket was still in her father's study so she just crossed her arms in front of her chest, shivered and took a deep breath. Slowly she walked over to the bench that stood underneath the leaf- less tree and sat down.

Her eyes landed on the empty space beside her, the place where her mother had always sat when they needed to talk. Countless hours had been spent on this bench in summer, talking about everything that came to their minds. Her eyes filled with tears as she stared onto the wooden bench and she took a shuddering breath to keep the tears at bay. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt this lonely.

"I really wish you were here now, Mom," she said quietly into the darkness and wiped away the stray tear that had escaped. She sat up straight when she heard the backdoor open and footsteps on the patio and then on the grass. She nearly cursed when she saw her father approaching her in the dimly lit garden.

"Cami, what are you doing out here? It's damn cold," he said in his usual lecturing tone when he stopped in front of her and put his hands on his hips.

"I just needed a moment of silence Dad. At home it's just me and Michelle, I'm simply not used to this chaos anymore," she told the half-truth and pasted a fake smile on her face.

"This was your and your mother's spot. You miss her," Mr. Saroyan stated gruffly and sought out her eyes.

"It's Christmas, Daddy," she shrugged, the smile still firmly in place.

"I miss her, too," he admitted and sat down beside her, took the place her mother had always occupied. They sat in silence for a few moments, both staring blankly ahead. "What's going on, Camille?" her father asked then, the use of her full first name making it obvious that he was serious and really wanted to know.

"What do you mean?" she played dumb, trying to avoid answering him. This wasn't a talk she wanted to have with her father. When her mother had still been alive she had sent him away for talks like this, and after she had died Cam had simply stopped talking to anyone. She was used to dealing with things on her own by now and had years of experience.

"I know you think I never notice anything and I never knew a damn thing because I never said anything, but I'm not that oblivious, honey. Your mother might have sent me away for the actual talks, but she always told me afterwards what was going on." Cam gaped at him, she couldn't believe it. "You really believe I don't know about you sneaking out at night? Or that first boyfriend of yours? I know that you and Seeley were way more than best friends from the beginning and I also know you lived with Andrew Welton. I never found out though why you two split, but I know you were devastated afterwards, especially after losing that kid as well. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you back then, but I just wasn't ready to take the empty place your mother had left behind," he spoke softly and wrung his hands while he talked, blew his warm breath on them from time to time.

"He cheated on me, Dad. We were engaged, wanted to get married and still he wouldn't stop seeing other women. He told me he loved me and that he wanted a family with me, more kids, everything. And then I found out he had been seeing yet another woman, another nurse at the hospital, another patient. And I just... I couldn't do it anymore. He promised again and again that he would change, that he loved me, but then he'd cheat again. So I had to go and leave Michelle behind," she told him quietly without looking at him. She couldn't believe she was actually telling her father all these things; she hadn't even been aware one could really talk to him.

"This Hodgins cheated as well?" her father asked, his voice losing a bit of its tenderness as he asked.

"No, Jack would never do that," she spoke with conviction and shook her head.

"Then why are you two no longer together?" Mr. Saroyan wanted to know, his eyebrows drawn together and his body facing hers sideways.

"We are still together Dad. I told you he just couldn't cancel his ski trip, that's all." The fake smile was back, but for once her father admitted that he saw right through it.

"Cami, please! I can see that something is wrong. You are quiet, pensive and sad and Michelle is hovering over you with that worried look in her eyes. You don't fight back with Felicia and you haven't made any snide remarks all evening. What's going on?" he asked again.

"I'm really not comfortable talking about this with you. Especially because you might ground me afterwards," she attempted to joke, but her father didn't smile. He just kept looking at her, his eyes boring into hers. Sitting there in the cold, while her father looked at her she couldn't keep it in anymore.

"We were happy together, everything was great and suddenly I found out I was pregnant," she started and paused, waiting for her father to say something, but he remained quiet. "Jack was so happy although it had been anything but planned," she went on with a sad smile. "And then we were told it was an ectopic pregnancy. A day before the surgery I lost the fetus," she said.

"Oh honey," her father sighed and wrapped an arm around her.

"And you know what the crazy thing is?" she asked, her voice getting higher as the tears started. "I wasn't sad. I was only relieved I didn't have to go through surgery and that's all," she admitted and started to talk faster and faster afterwards, the words spilling out of her mouth unfiltered. "And Jack was so sad. He couldn't understand why I wasn't able to realize that we had lost a baby. I don't know why, Dad. I don't know why I can't feel anything when it comes to this pregnancy. And he kept alluding to trying again, having kids together, getting married, all that. But after I had to leave Michelle behind I promised myself that I would never go through that again. I would never have a kid of my own, so I wouldn't lose another family when it didn't work out. I lost the first when Mom died. I lost another when I lost Michelle and Andrew and I just can't go through it again," she sniffed and wiped at the tears that randomly kept falling while she still tried to keep them in. "I told him he should think about if he could live with me and know that I won't have any kids and I'll never get married and we took some time off. He's hurt and angry and I get that. I wish I could give him what he wants, but I just... I can't lose another family if this goes wrong," she said and her father pulled her closer into his side, rubbing his hand up and down her arm to keep her warm.

"But honey, if you realized it or not, you already lost another baby. It might not have been born, but it was there. It wasn't your fault and it wasn't his fault but you lost another family by that pregnancy going wrong. Sometimes it's not in our power what happens. There are no guarantees in life and no one can give you any. But this Jack is a good guy. He had the guts to actually stand his ground as your boyfriend when he first came here. I might not like it, because you'll always be my little girl, but I was impressed by that. Even Seeley was too chicken to do that and kept pretending for a long while that he was just a good friend," Mr. Saroyan said.

"Until you saw us kissing in the garage," Cam remembered with a small smile.

"Yeah," he nodded. "But Jack came here and didn't let me intimidate him. The way he looked at you and didn't even notice Felicia's attempts to flirt with him showed us all clearly that he really loves you. If you let your fear get in your way you will lose something that might turn out to be the best thing in your life," he said and gave her shoulder a squeeze.

"And what if it doesn't work out? What if I can't get pregnant again? Or keep having miscarriages or ectopic pregnancies? What if he falls in love with someone else? Maybe Michelle was right and I'm not good enough. If I wasn't good enough for Andrew how can I be for Jack? He's a great guy and he has it all, the looks, the charm, the intelligence, the money. What if I'm not good enough?" She rattled off reasons.

"It if goes wrong then you still have the good times to look back on. You need the bad times to actually realize what good times are. And hopefully you will get through the bad times together. But that's only possible if you don't shut him out or push him away," Mr. Saroyan said and for a while they were both quiet while Cam thought about what he said. "If you really don't want kids because you hate them, then ok. But if you're just afraid, you'll regret it one day," he went on. "And don't ever think again that you're not good enough. That is crazy and I don't wanna hear that ever again," he said the last part like he was lecturing a kid.

She remained quiet again and moved closer to her father, seeking the warmth. He just placed a kiss on top of her hair. She felt like a child that had just realized her parents weren't angry about a bad grade, all they wanted to do was support her. She felt loved by her father and though she had always known, she hadn't felt it since her mother had died.

Suddenly her breath caught in her chest, when for the first time, there in the safety of her father's arms, she let herself realize and feel, really feel, that she had been pregnant with an actual baby. Her baby. Their baby. Ectopic pregnancy or not... there had been a baby. "I lost our baby, Dad," she whispered before she started sobbing. For the first time she cried for the baby she had lost while the pain spread through her chest like wild fire. Her father wrapped his arms around her and simply held her while she cried, just like he had done when she had still been a child herself.

* * *

"Allein, allein," the crowd screamed while they danced wildly to the techno beats up in the hut on the mountain. The after ski Christmas party was always fun and the alcohol flowed freely and pretty much everyone was more drunk than not. With the ski lift and taxis they would all go back to their houses and hotels in the early hours of the morning.

"Oh, I'm sorry," a pretty blonde said when she bumped against Hodgins and spilled some of her beverage over his jeans.

"No big deal," he shrugged and smiled at her.

"I know you from somewhere. Have you been here before?" she asked him and placed a hand on his shoulder to steady herself.

"I'm here nearly every year," he yelled back over the loud music.

"Which hotel are you staying in?" she asked and he was aware that she was one of those bunnies around here that were searching for rich husbands or simply a nice night.

"Oh you know, here and there," he replied vaguely.

"What's your profession?" she slurred next.

"I work at a lab," he said, still technically not lying.

"You're here alone?" she became blunter and placed her other hand on his other shoulder, her drink forgotten on the table behind her.

"Yes, I am," he nodded.

"You know what 'Allein allein' means?" she asked him and came so close that he could smell the alcohol on her breath.

"It means 'alone' ", he said and didn't move away.

"And nobody should be alone tonight," she grinned and wrapped her arms around his neck and started to sway her hips in the rhythm of the music. He danced with her to the techno beats, the blurring lights and the fake fog creating a surreal atmosphere. He let himself go, the alcohol pumping through his body, making him lightheaded and inhibited. One song morphed into the next, the beat barely changing and his nameless companion was still attached to his neck, her hips now moving against his, her hands wandering under his shirt and gliding over the sweaty skin of his back. His hands were resting on her hips, his eyes half closed, arousal and booze messing with his head. When her lips were on his and her tongue entered his mouth he stepped back and pushed her away from him so fast, that she swayed. He steadied her with one hand and then pulled away.

"I have to go," he said without an explanation.

"You'll be here for New Years Eve?" she asked him.

"I'll be here," he nodded and hurried out of the house and over to the lift. He slumped in one of the seats, the cold air making him nauseous. He barely made it out of the cab and into the house before he started retching, vomiting all the booze he had consumed that night into the toilet- and some beside it. "Cam," he half sobbed, half groaned and leaned his forehead against the toilet seat. "_What am I doing?_" was the only clear thought he had until he woke up on his bathroom floor the next day around noon.

* * *

Michelle was over at Perry's the next night and Cam wandered through the living room. She found the scrap book on the shelf and picked it up. Slowly she flipped through the pages and looked at the pictures of her, Andrew, and Michelle. There was a cut in the middle and then followed newer pictures of her and Michelle... and of Hodgins. She hadn't even noticed how often he was around, but now there was barely a photo which he hadn't taken or was in.

She remembered that she had stared at the only picture she had taken with her back then when she had left Andrew. She had stared at it, like she did now at the pictures of Hodgins, Michelle and her. She remembered what was missing and walked over to her CD rack. She turned around to check that the door was still closed and Michelle was still gone. It was a miracle Michelle hadn't found this CD yet. The familiar voice of the too familiar lyrics took Cam back ten years in time and she slumped on the couch, drawing her knees up to her chest. Back then she had listened to this song over and over, waiting for the tears to come. They hadn't come, she had been just as dead inside as she had been when she'd found out about the ectopic pregnancy. Her head had taken over and her heart had shut down.

"My shattered dreams and broken heart are mending on the shelf. I saw you holding hands, standing close to someone else. Now I sit all alone wishing all my feeling was gone I gave my best to you, nothing for me to do. But have one last cry. One last cry, before I leave it all behind. I've gotta put you outta my mind this time. Stop living a lie. I guess I'm down to my last cry," the voice sang. It was a song that she had started listening to after Andrew had cheated on her for the first time. Still, she hadn't left him back then, but instead said yes when he had asked her to marry him six months later.

"I was here, you were there, guess we never could agree. While the sun shines on you I need some love to rain on me. Still I sit all alone, wishing all my feeling was gone. Gotta get over you, nothing for me to do. But have one last cry. One last cry, before I leave it all behind. I've gotta put you outta my mind this time. Stop living a lie. I know I gotta be strong cause round me life goes on and on and on. I'm gonna dry my eyes right after I had my one last cry." Tears were running over Cam's face as she listened to the lyrics and stared at the picture in front of her, the one on the first page of the album. She didn't question it that she cried for Andrew for the first time after all these years, cried for the family she had lost back then. She just wept while Brian McKnight sang in the background, again and again. And while doing so she realized that she slowly felt better, beside the headache she had from crying. The pain the thought of Andrew had always caused her was slowly flowing away with her tears. When she was all cried out she flipped to the last page of the album where a picture with Hodgins was sitting. "T.B.C." Michelle had written underneath and that made Cam smile. There was hope for her after all. Because Hodgins wasn't Andrew. He would never cheat on her.

* * *

"Hey Jack, this is a surprise," Angela laughed as she greeted Hodgins on the phone.

"Yeah, just wanted to say "Happy New Year" a bit early," he replied.

"How's Aspen? Everything still standing or did you party too hard?" she wanted to know next.

"Let's just say I spent Christmas hanging over the toilet," he answered truthfully. He had just called and they were out of things to say already. Why he had called he couldn't really say. It had been an impulse, because he thought that maybe Angela could help him, by just talking to him. The few days between Christmas and New Years Eve had been spent skiing and sitting alone in his house. He hadn't gone to an after ski party again, fearing he would meet the bombshell again.

"What's wrong Jack?" Angela asked him then, knowing him well enough to pick up on the undertone in his voice.

"I don't know if I.... is it weird if I ask you for advice on women?" he interrupted himself.

"Women or Cam?" came the prompt reply.

"Both?" he said. "It's just that... I want to go to this party tonight and this blonde... woman will be there as well. We danced, nothing else happened, but if I go there tonight I'm afraid something might actually happen. And I don't want to do that to Cam," he hurried to explain.

"Then you've got two possibilities," Angela started. "Either you call Cam and tell her," she said.

"God no! The situation being as it is that would be the final straw," he exclaimed.

"Or you go there tonight and see what happens. You know my opinion on it jack: If something happens with another person, then the relationship is over anyway. If you can't resist this blonde lady tonight, then forget about Cam," Angela advised.

"God, what a mess," he sighed sadly and rubbed his hand over his face.

"Will you finally tell me what got you in this mess? What happened?" she asked and made him sigh again.

"If I tell you do you promise not to say anything to Cam?" he asked.

"I promise," she vowed and listened carefully as he told her the story of why they had taken some time off from each other. He told Angela more than he had told Sweets or Michelle before, simply because he considered her one of his closest friends. When he was done the line remained silent for a moment. Then he heard a sob.

"Jack, I'm so sorry for both of you," she sniffed. "Hearing that I wish we hadn't split and I could have given you all that," she added, not caring if this was an inappropriate thing to say.

"It's funny isn't it? We agreed to have kids and have a family, you were even fonder of the idea than I was. We could have had it all and didn't trust each other enough. And now that we trust each other with all secrets I'm so in love with Cam that I can't see straight, but she doesn't want a family," he summed up his situation.

"I don't think it's funny. I think it's heartbreaking. But even back then when I talked to Cam about kids she said she didn't want any because she didn't want to lose her body to pregnancy," Angela reported.

"I think we both know that Cam rarely reveals her true feelings about something that is important to her. We didn't know about Andrew Welton until he lay dead on the table, although she told us about every other meaningless boyfriend," Hodgins said and Angela nodded quietly into the phone.

"Cam keeps everything in and the more important it is to her the more she keeps it to herself. She's a lot like Brennan when it comes to this," Angela observed.

"They were both hurt pretty badly in the past. And with a family like Cam's who makes a celebration out of every personal fail, it might be wisest not to speak about things that hurt you," Hodgins agreed.

"But she must have someone to talk to. A best friend? Her sister maybe?" Angela asked.

"Cam always talked to her mother, but since her death she pretty much deals with everything on her own," he said, doodling with a pen on the newspaper in front of him.

"Or doesn't deal with it at all, the way you describe it. Maybe this whole thing isn't just about you. Maybe she ticks more like Brennan than we thought and that would mean that she bottled everything up that had to do with Andrew Welton and her wish for a family and just decided that the heartache wasn't worth another try. Until you came along. In that case I'd say: Give her time, but force her to talk somehow," Angela told him, seeing more and more parallels between Brennan and Cam now that she was thinking about it.

"Yeah... and what about the party?" he asked.

"I'd say go. But if you see the blonde, remember Cam and think about if you really want it to be over before you act," Angela said and he nodded quietly.

* * *

"And what do you think that is?" Cam asked Michelle as they sat at the table, looking at the small silver ball that lay in front of Michelle.

"No idea. A meteorite maybe? Does that mean I'm gonna get hit by a meteorite next year?" she asked and wrinkled her forehead.

"It could be a bomb as well," Cam mused.

"Bomb, I saw that one on the sheet," Michelle replied and took the handbook that had come with the lead. "Bomb: You will escape a danger," she said when she found it.

"Maybe it's the moon? Meaning you'll get really lunatic," Cam teased her.

"Haha, but the moon means honor awaits you," Michelle replied after checking the guide. "Your turn," she said and watched as Cam melted the lead over a candle and then dumped it into the water bowl.

"I'd say that's an egg," Cam nodded as she looked at the form the lead had taken.

"I agree," the teen said and looked into the handbook. "And I so don't wanna read out the meaning to you. Pick something else," she decided then.

"What? You just agreed! You can't just change my fate because you don't like the meaning of the symbol," Cam protested. "Give me that," she requested then, but Michelle shook her head and held the book away from her.

"Pick something else. Trust me," she insisted.

"I don't see anything else," Cam pouted.

"Ok, uhm, I see a sponge now. Don't you see a sponge too?"

"No, I don't," Cam said.

"Sponge means 'Clean your soul,' that's good, right? Cathartic," Michelle grinned.

"You are cheating even when we're just melting lead," her legal guardian complained just as the doorbell rang.

"Who is that?" they both asked at the same time and had to laugh.

"You go and check. Your penalty for cheating," Cam decided.

"I didn't cheat, but fine I'll go and open it," Michelle rolled her eyes and went to open the door. As soon as she was out of sight Cam took the book and searched for "egg". "Your family will grow" she read and sighed.

"It's your dad," Michelle called from the doorway and Cam quickly placed the book back on the table.

"What is he doing here?" Cam asked and walked over to the open door as well.

"I don't have the slightest idea," Michelle replied.

"Hello my girls," Mr. Saroyan greeted them when he stepped out of the elevator.

"Dad, what are you doing here?" Cam couldn't help but ask when she saw him.

"Ah, you know, I thought I'd spice it up a bit this year and let the other loons celebrate alone and spend some time with my daughter instead," he shrugged and hugged them both. "I hope I'm not interrupting," he said then.

"No you're not," Cam smiled softly at him, actually glad that he was there.

"You can melt some lead. The candle is still burning," Michelle told him and pointed over to the table. "Just please no eggs. I can't deal with lead eggs tonight," she told him then and Cam had to laugh about it.

* * *

To the sounds of Muse, Hodgins drove up to the party location for the night. He reached the parking lot beside the building and was just about to turn off the engine when his new favorite song started again. It seemed like his shuffle was playing it more than any other song on the CD. Sitting in the dark parking lot two hours before midnight and knowing that he would have to fight off the blonde bombshell he listened to its lyrics for the first time. "Please me, show me how it's done. Tease me, you are the one. I want to reconcile the violence in your heart. I want to recognize your beauty is not just a mask. I want to exorcise the demons from your past. I want to satisfy the undisclosed desires in your heart. Please me, show me how it's done. Trust me, you are the one."

Hodgins pressed repeat and listened to the song again, thought for a second, and then pulled out of the parking lot. He would spend this New Years Eve alone and think about everything. If it was only so he could prove to himself that she could trust him. Because for him, she was the one.

* * *

"Happy New Year, Princess," Mr. Saroyan said after Cam had finally let go of Michelle and hugged her tightly.

"Thanks Dad, Happy New Year to you too," Cam smiled.

"Michelle, come here," he requested then and held the girl tight. Her first beginning of the new year without her father and she was so brave.

"And now we head to bed?" Michelle smiled through her tears and wiped them away when Cam's father let her go again.

"No, it's time for the family tradition," he shook his head.

"What tradition Dad? To be honest my tradition over the last few years was to get wasted and dance all night," Cam laughed.

"You can make that your tradition when I'm not around, but when I'm here we follow your mothers lead," he decided and they all sat back down on the couch.

"Oh," Cam only said, knowing what would be coming.

"What did she do?" Michelle asked.

"She gave thanks, every time after midnight, because no matter what there's always something to be grateful for," he said.

"The usual Dad?" Cam asked and he nodded. She took a CD from her CD rack.

"I don't know that song," Michelle said when the song started, but Cam only smiled at her.

"You'll learn. It's a good tradition after all," she smiled and then started singing with her dad, the song she had sung for 23 years once a year until she had suddenly stopped.

"Oh Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder consider all the works thy hand hath made. I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder, thy power throughout the universe displayed," Cam leaned against her father and let him wrap one arm around her shoulders, while they both remembered her mother and the family they had once been. "Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee, how great Thou art, how great Thou art! Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee, how great Thou art, how great Thou art! When through the woods and forest glades I wander and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees; when I look down from lofty mountain grandeur, and hear the brook, and feel the gentle breeze." by the second time they sang the refrain Michelle joined them and leaned against Cam.

And while they were singing Cam wondered how it would be if Hodgins were here now and they had one or two more kids to sing along with them.

"...and take me home, what joy shall fill my heart! Then I shall bow in humble adoration and there proclaim, 'My God, how great Thou art!' Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee, how great Thou art! How great Thou art! Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee, how great Thou art! How great Thou art!"

**TBC**

**I hope you like it  
**


	12. Chapter 12

Thanks to Gianna for betaing!

This is to celebrate that I'm finally done with my thesis. hope you like the chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 12: Just wrong  
**

Cam's first day back at work was a Wednesday and she didn't start it in the best mood. Although Christmas and New Years Eve had been more revealing and less crappy than she had thought, the fact alone that she hadn't been able to reach Jack after midnight on New Year's Eve had been enough to have her grumbling ever since. She had tried two more times, but hadn't been able to reach him. Michelle had argued with her that maybe his cell phone had died and he had forgotten to recharge it, but she countered saying that he knew she would be calling and he hadn't even tried to reach her.

She wasn't aware that Hodgins had spent New Year's Eve and the last two days of his vacation in a state of nearly silent meditation, trying to figure out what he should do and what he should tell Cam in the New Year. He had finally decided that he would let her talk first and then react, because his opinion hadn't changed one bit.

Angela and Wendell were the first victims of Cam's mood that morning, when she found them flirting in Angela's office. When she walked in they jumped apart and while Angela looked uncomfortable Wendell tried to find an excuse.

"Dr. Saroyan, I was just asking Angela if she could do some 3D modeling of a shattered femur that I was given by the archaeology department," he said and handed Angela a folder.

"Save it, Mr. Bray. You think you have a big secret, but you don't," she told him and then marched off after handing him a folder. She passed Hodgins, who was talking to one of the lab assistants, but she didn't even look at him. He decided to just ignore her mood and deal with it later. He continued on his way with Sandy, waved at Angela and Wendell when he passed by, and then resumed his work.

A while later Wendell, Cam and Hodgins were standing in front of a big screen watching Dr. Brennan as she analyzed the body of the deceased. When Hodgins came up onto the platform Cam had made a point out of ignoring him and he knew he was still in the dog house. He was aware of why she was treating him this way, it was about the call. He would have to explain himself to her, but he could only do that in private.

"That's five," Brennan said as she took another ball out of the victim's head.

"Too big to be buckshot. Photos you sent of the first one show to be a ball bearing approximately 17.5 millimeters," Hodgins said.

"That makes number six," Brennan commented when she found another ball.

"Certainly enough metal to generate the magnetism to raise the remains when exposed to the MRI," Cam replied.

"Well, when I receive them, I might be able to ID the manufacturer and intended use, which I imagine was not murder," Hodgins told Brennan just as Angela arrived.

"Hey. I finished the facial reconstruction off the MRI. I'm emailing it now. Sorry – it is not an alien," she said and showed them the picture of a young woman. They talked a bit more about the ball bearings inside the victim's head and just when Brennan wanted to end the video conference Cam stopped her.

"Not so fast, Dr. Brennan. I know you dislike flesh, but I'm going to need you to remove the adipocere organs," she said, knowing how much Brennan would dislike it.

"Oh, Dr. Brennan dealing with flesh," Wendell grinned.

"Like a cat dealing with water," Hodgins remarked.

"Flesh is not my strength," Brennan admitted.

"You're gonna need a hair dryer and some cooking spray," Cam smiled, knowing this would be fun to let herself live out her mean streak by making Brennan perform an autopsy.

"I will need some time to get the requested items," the anthropologist said.

"Ok, then you get the stuff and I'll get back to my office and we start in... let's say ten minutes? I'll walk you through it," Cam grinned and Brennan nodded before she ended the call. "Oh, this will be fun," Cam smiled and rubbed her hands as she walked past her grinning colleagues and into her office.

The doors had barely closed behind her when they opened again, Hodgins entering her lab.

"Hey you," he started with the lamest opening line ever as the doors closed again.

"Oh, so you're talking to me again. I thought we'd reached the stage of ignoring each other," she replied and sat down in her chair without even looking at him.

"I didn't ignore you," he said, leaning against her desk.

"So you're gonna take the 'my phone died' excuse?" she spat back.

"No, I'm gonna take the 'I switched it off because I needed to think' excuse. I couldn't make a decision while we saw each other constantly, so I thought maybe it would help if we didn't have any contact at all," he told her.

"And, did it work?" she wanted to know and sounded more sad than upset.

"I don't know. I feel like I'm missing something... like I don't have all the facts yet. It's weird," he admitted. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry and Happy New Year," he grinned then and she couldn't help but to forgive him when she saw his smile.

"Happy New Year to you too," she smiled back.

"Your family still alive or did you kill them all with some untraceable poison?" he asked her to lighten the mood.

"It was actually good. I reconnected with my dad and he even stopped by for New Years Eve. And you?" she reported.

"I spent Christmas hunched over the toilet and stayed home for New Years Eve in a state of calm meditation," he smiled.

"What drugs did you take to achieve that?" she teased him and he playfully tugged on her ponytail.

"You think you're gonna be done before lunch with the video autopsy?" Hodgins asked her.

"I don't know, I've never done this before and Brennan really isn't good with flesh."

"K, then I'll check on you before lunch and we'll see how far you are," he said and this time he stroked over her hair before he left the room with a smile.

* * *

"I did it!" Brennan proclaimed happily when she had managed to cut the body open.

"Very good, Dr. Brennan," Cam praised Brennan's success obediently.

"Yes, it was," she said again without a hint of modesty.

"Now, remove the stomach," Cam instructed.

"Oh," the anthropologist sighed without excitement just as Hodgins entered again.

"She was covered in ethyl parathion and aldicarb. It was all over her space-age outerwear. It's an insecticide. It's extremely illegal in the U.S., but it's still sold south of the border. It explains why the adipocere dried so quickly," he presented his findings.

"So our victim was using a dangerous insecticide. Not unusual for someone who's a couple of tacos short of a combo plate," Cam said and looked at Hodgins, who looked her right into the eyes.

"Nice metaphor," he grinned.

"Thanks," Cam smiled back at him.

"I found something. It's a memory card tied to a string. It appears to be dental floss," Brennan interrupted their moment.

"Check her teeth. Any evidence of floss still on her teeth?" Cam suddenly asked and Hodgins wrinkled his forehead because he didn't know what she was getting at.

"Yes. There's a fragment tied to the left second premolar," Brennan confirmed her suspicion.

"She was hiding the card. It's an old prison trick. She tied one end of the floss to her tooth and the other end to the memory card, so if she needed it, she could use the floss to pull it up," Cam explained to both Brennan and Hodgins, but kept her eyes on her beau the whole time. It was just too nice to have him around again.

"I'll overnight the card to Angela. Whatever is on it was important enough to hide," Brennan said.

"My guess, it's important enough to kill for," Hodgins speculated.

"Ok, Dr. Saroyan, what's next?" Brennan asked, interrupting another of Cam and Hodgins' moments.

"The lungs are next," Cam replied loudly, before she lowered her voice and turned to Hodgins. "Sorry, but this will take longer than I thought. We'll talk tonight?" she asked him.

"We'll talk tonight," he nodded, surprised her by kissing her quickly, and left her office.

* * *

"Hey babe, finally home?" Hodgins asked when he picked up his phone that evening and saw Cam's home phone number on his display. She had still been in when he had left and she had promised to call him when she was home.

"Dr. H. it's me. Cam just called me to tell me that she won't be home until late, because there's some emergency meeting at the lab about something I didn't really understand because she was in such a hurry. Any way she told me to tell you that she won't make it tonight," Michelle informed him.

"Oh, um, ok. Thanks for telling me," he said disappointedly.

"You're welcome. And Happy New Year," she chirped.

"Happy New Year to you, too. I heard Cam's dad was over," he replied, striking up a conversation. After all, he hadn't talked to Michelle since before Christmas either.

"Yup, it actually wasn't half bad until he brought Cam's aunt along the next day and she wanted to redecorate our whole place," Michelle said.

"Felicia didn't show?" he asked surprised and sat down on his couch, knowing they might be awhile.

"Nah, she and I had a little disagreement on Christmas Eve," Michelle reported. "But don't tell Cam!" she added.

"I won't," he laughed. "Hey, have you eaten yet?" he asked her then, having an idea.

"No, I was thinking of ordering some pizza, now that Cam won't be around tonight," the girl said.

"How about I pick you up and we grab something to eat and you update me on everything that happened?" he invited her.

"Great. We can go for ice cream afterwards?" she asked, trying to get more than a dinner out of the evening.

"If it's not too late," he laughed at her enthusiasm. "Now get ready, I'll be there in twenty and I won't wait for longer than five minutes before I drive off again," he threatened, knowing how long she always needed in the bathroom.

"You need half an hour to get here anyway, so I'll be ready," she grinned and they both hung up.

* * *

As good as the last day had ended, with his dinner with Michelle, as crappy the new one started when Wendell came into his lab that morning and took him completely by surprise.

"Angela and I…" the intern started innocent enough and all Hodgins could do was laugh.

"Oh. You're kidding, right? Go ahead, kid. Knock yourself out. Hey, good luck with that," he chuckled.

"Hodgins, what I'm trying to tell you is that my luck has already been good," Wendell said and Hodgins was completely stunned.

"Oh," was all he could manage to say. He surely hadn't seen that one coming.

"I would never want you to think that I…" Wendell started explaining.

"No, no, Wendell, Wendell, stop, stop, stop. It's been over between Angela and me for a long time. I have moved on. And you know what? I'm happy for you, you know? And for her," Hodgins replied with a fake smile that would make even Cam proud.

"Really?" his friend bought it.

"Yes, really. You're both my friends. Why wouldn't I be happy for you?" he asked and actually asked himself a similar kind of question on the inside. _Why aren't I happy for them?_

"I don't… okay. Thanks man," Wendell grinned relieved.

"Of course. I'll tell you what, hey, why don't the three of us grab lunch together, huh? This is a good thing Wendell, this should not be weird for us," he tried to reassure him.

"Yeah, yeah, sure, lunch. That sounds great man," the intern agreed happily.

"Great, good, good." Hodgins cheeks started to hurt from the forced smiles, but still he waited until Wendell was gone to let it fall off his face. Then he drew his eyebrows together, wrinkled his forehead and tried to keep himself from slamming a fist into his microscope. What the hell was wrong with him and why was this affecting him the way it did?

* * *

For lunch that day Hodgins found himself sitting at the Royal Diner, smiling at the two awkward lovebirds across from him, while he pretended everything was fine and he didn't want to stab them with his fork.

"You guys can hold hands, if you want. Eat off each other's plates. I mean, any and all of that kind of gooey romanticism is completely fine by me," he grinned and wished he could drown himself in his drink.

"We know, Hodgins," Angela assured him, unaware of how much he despised her right that moment. It was only partly because she had made him spill his guts about Cam while she hadn't said a word about Wendell. What kind of friendship was that?

"I'm not really the public display kind of guy," Wendell said.

"I'm just saying you don't need to be afraid or…" Hodgins assured them, and himself once again, but was surprised when Wendell leaned over and planted one on Angela. "There. See? My head did not explode," he said. No, his head didn't explode, but he knew his punching bag would suffer severe injuries later that night.

"Um, I'm not really okay with being kissed when it's not about me," Angela complained to Wendell and Hodgins wanted to slap them both.

"Sorry. Panicked, but everything's fine, right? Everything's fine," Wendell excused just as Sweets approached.

"Everything's not fine. This is a fraught situation. It's important to face these things head-on," Sweets said, but Hodgins knew that if he faced anything head on these days, he would probably rot in prison afterwards. Most confusing for him was where this anger suddenly came from. He knew he was frustrated about the fraught situation with Cam, but why was he reacting in such an extreme way to Wendell and Angela?

"Sweets, there's nothing to face, okay? I mean, we can see why you'd think that but we're all fine," he said anyway.

"I am fine, fine," Angela confirmed, clearly being not "fine".

"Lance, your order's ready," the waitress called and Sweets looked at Hodgins for a moment, deciding if he could really leave him in this situation.

"Thanks," he finally said, took his food and left.

* * *

~*~  
Another day later, and after working out so hard that his knuckles hurt the day before, Hodgins was in a slightly better mood- but only when Cam was around and made him forget everything for a second. It was strange, because instead of reminding him of being apart, he was happy as long as she was around. The sadness came when she left again. They had their "moments" again and they were both aware of it, it seemed like Cam even looked forward to them.

They still had to talk and they were both aware that they had said in the New Year, but so far they hadn't even talked about setting a date for it.

"So I was able to clarify the chemiluminescent signature of the materials being dumped in the video. Manganese and sodium borohydride. Used in the manufacture of batteries," he told her as she was standing in his lab, dressed in a white shirt and a purple skirt- an outfit he knew was new, because he hadn't seen it before.

"Can you get a specific manufacturer from that?" she asked him.

"I did. Innatron. Mexican flannel bush is on the verge of extinction, right? Innatron has a plant located smack-dab in the middle of the last remaining flannel bush population here in Juarez and they use manganese and sodium borohydride," he informed her.

"Wow," Cam just said. When he turned his head, he looked her right in the eyes and they both started smiling.

"Hmm," he agreed and their smiles widened. However when Cam thought about leaning in, she quickly turned around and walked away, aware of Hodgins eyes on her. He watched her leave, his eyes wandering appreciatively over her back and further down. It had been way too long... His eyes caught sight of Angela and Wendell flirting and laughing just outside his office. His smile slowly vanished and the longing he felt crept into his eyes, just to be replaced by anger a moment later. Anger didn't even describe it... Fury, hatred and aggression mixed and he knew he had to get out of this lab right that second or he would first kill Angela and Wendell and then lock Cam in his house and hold her hostage until she agreed to everything he wanted.

* * *

~*~  
Hodgins didn't even knock before he opened the door and waltzed into Sweets office in the Hoover building.

"Dr. Hodgins, I'm kind of in the middle of…" the young psychologist said, although he was alone in his office and seemed to be reading something.

"You were right, Sweets. Everything is not fine," Hodgins blurted out, sat down on the sofa, and then lay down, his feet dangling over the edge. "It's not fine at all."

"This is a good time." Sweets said immediately when he realized Hodgins would finally talk and maybe even realize what he really wanted.

"Don't know if I want to crawl into a hole and die or run over Wendell and Angela with a truck," the entomologist expressed what he was feeling ever since he had seen the two of them together.

"You know, it's natural to have those feelings," Sweets tried to reassure him. After all Hodgins was now witnessing that Angela had what he wanted and couldn't have. And she had it with his friend Wendell of all guys.

"But I'm a better man than this. I mean, I want to be happy for them. You know, I really do," Hodgins replied and sounded desperate.

"Well, it's easier for us to accept loneliness as long as the person we were once with is also alone," Sweets replied, knowing about Cam and Hodgins problems.

"When she finds happiness with someone else, oh, man, it's like being stabbed in the heart," Hodgins replied and thought about Cam. He didn't want her to find happiness with anyone else. He wanted her with him and it was driving him crazy that they were still stuck in this limbo, while everyone else seemed to move on and be happy.

"It's the human condition. You know, it's why there are so many movies and plays and songs and poems," Sweets said.

"Yeah, yeah, art, art," Hodgins waved him off and sat up. "I get it. What do I do?" he asked then.

"Well, first, you need to figure out what you want," Sweets said, knowing Hodgins still hadn't made up his mind about the whole kids or Cam question. Because if he had, he wouldn't be sitting here.

"I want to not be filled with anger and pain and resentment. I don't want to be jealous," Hodgins knew what Sweets was referring to but avoided commenting on the kids question, instead turning to his current feelings and what he wanted from that.

"Do you want Angela back?" Sweets suddenly asked and Hodgins was surprised by the question. What was Sweets getting at? He knew he didn't want Angela back, he knew... Suddenly it clicked in Hodgins head what the psychologist was getting at, without actually saying anything. Sweets knew that Angela could offer Hodgins anything he thought he wanted. The family, the kids... His mouth fell open when he realized that the whole time while contemplating it, he had followed a wrong way of thinking. It didn't come down to children _or_ Cam, because without her he didn't want the children. "I don't think you're jealous," Sweets said and didn't let him dwell too long on his thoughts. He sat down next to Hodgins on the couch. "I think that you're grieving what you've lost," he said, referring to the baby and the opportunity to have a family without planning for it or discussing it.

"Grieving? As in grief?" Hodgins asked.

"Yes," he nodded.

"Oh, man, the only thing that cures grief is time. Unless you're recommending a lot of alcohol," Hodgins groaned, realizing there would be no easy way to change how he felt.

"I can't really recommend alcohol," Sweets smiled.

"Man, that'd be great if you could, though, right?" Hodgins chuckled.

"I recommend time," Sweets turned serious again.

"So, just smile and act like a good guy?" Hodgins asked and the thought didn't really appeal to him.

"You are a good guy."

"You know, there was a time that I thought Angela and I would be together forever," Hodgins said and trailed off, wondering if there would come a time when he would say the same thing about Cam, while she had found someone else. "Can I just sit here for a minute?" he asked.

"Yeah, take all the time you need," Sweets replied and patted him on the shoulder while they both sat side by side. Hodgins was deep in thought, but he didn't feel alone, knowing that when he needed an opinion he could talk about it and Sweets would understand and be his sounding board. So he sat there and thought. He had done that several times over the last few weeks, but now he had new facts to consider. How many times can you really fall in love, he wondered. And what if you let the woman go that you're really meant to be with?

* * *

After translating some Spanish sentence from an audio file Angela and Cam were interrupted by an excited Hodgins and Wendell.

"So we put together a range of weapons which might fire ball bearings at a velocity congruent with the damage done to the inside of our victim's skull," Hodgins informed them while the all walked over to his lab.

"Okay, we have a paintball gun, an air rifle, a BB gun, and a PVC pipe zip gun," Wendell went on with the explanation as they entered the lab. Inside were four melons that had wigs on them and the faces of the four people in the lab attached to them. "Each modified to fire six 17.5-millimeter ball bearings. Melons lined with paraffin and filled with dense agar gelatin which mimics skull and brain matter," Wendell said, ignoring the faces.

"What's with the faces?" Cam asked looking in Hodgins direction, already knowing that this had been his idea.

"Uh, yeah, we, um, well, I guess I kind of got inspired," he admitted sheepishly, but couldn't hide his excitement.

"Inspired?" Cam wanted to know. She knew why he wanted to shoot her, but the other employees?

"All right, goggles, everyone," he avoided answering her question while Angela and Cam put on aprons and goggles. Then Wendell pushed the button and the first riffle fired at the melon- Hodgins head.

"All right, okay. So the paintball gun bearing didn't have enough force to get through my skull," Hodgins observed.

"That's too bad," Angela whispered to Cam and they both snickered.

"I'm next!" Wendell grinned excitedly upon the prospect of getting shot.

"Uh, uh! I'll shoot you," Hodgins took the trigger from him and shot this time. "Whoa! That was way too much damage. That blew your head clear off." Hodgins was way too excited about this and Cam noticed.

"I don't know if anyone should enjoy their work this much," she commented.

"Mmm," Angela agreed.

"You and Dr. Saroyan are still in the running," Wendell said to her and wanted to shoot this time, but Hodgins denied it.

"Oh, I got it," he said and pushed the button two more times, first shooting Cam then Angela's melon head. Wendell walked over to the melons when Hodgins was done.

"Not enough force to kill Dr. Saroyan," he said when he inspected the melon. Cam looked surprised. Hodgins had made sure, and she knew that he had known the outcome before, that he hadn't been killed and he had spared her as well. Given their situation it should have been her head flying off, but... suddenly it clicked in her head. "Whoa! Angela, the balls are rattling but your head is still intact!" Wendell exclaimed when he held the Angela-melon and shook it.

"Call that thing by my name one more time. I dare you," Angela said to him.

"It was a zip gun," Hodgins presented the result.

"A perfect, untraceable, cheap weapon, easily homemade," the intern nodded.

"That was fun," Hodgins grinned, still excited about the experiment.

"Boys," Angela rolled her eyes and left the room.

"You got that right," Cam agreed and walked to the door as well. When she passed Hodgins she placed her left hand on his shoulder and gave it a quick squeeze. They both knew what this gesture meant; Cam had seen right through his experiment. She knew now that he knew about Angela and Wendell and she was aware that he was firing off his frustration with shooting balls- but she was ok with both and they would talk about it when he was ready.

"Wanna do it again?" Hodgins grinned when Wendell left as well and he could still feel the warmth were Cam's hand had rested.

* * *

When he left the Jeffersonian that evening Hodgins decided to get something to eat before going home. As he walked up to the Founding Fathers bar though he saw that Angela and Wendell were inside, flirting, laughing, and necking. He watched them for a moment, sadness engulfing him as he couldn't shake the thoughts of the last time he and Cam had been somewhere acting like this; like they didn't have a care in the world. It seemed so long ago. He turned around, suddenly not hungry anymore and crossed the street. There while crossing the street out in the cold, dark night everything suddenly became clear to him as he put it all together in his head. He knew now what he wanted and he needed to talk to Cam. Right then.

"Hey, I wasn't expecting you tonight," Cam said in greeting as he let himself into her apartment. He had been afraid that Michelle was already asleep and he didn't want to ring the doorbell or knock. Cam was sitting in her living room, a light blue blanket wrapped around her feet, watching TV and the scene was so familiar it slowed down his furiously beating heart and calmed his breathing.

"I know it's late, but I just... I really need to talk to you," he blurted out and sat down in the recliner, wringing his hands.

"Ok, anytime," she smiled and he realized that she had made a decision as well; otherwise she wouldn't be so calm.

"I... can I start, please?" he asked her and looked from his hands.

"Go ahead," she nodded and sat up so she could look at him.

"I wasn't lying when I said that I had been thinking about it on New Year's Eve and the days after. I just couldn't make a decision. I didn't know whom to choose, you or my potential future kids. I tried to imagine a life without them. I tried to come up with arguments on how to convince you to have at least one and I tried to picture what my life would be like without you and Michelle. I couldn't decide," he started, the whole time staring at his shoes. "But then... I think you noticed that I was upset over the whole Angela and Wendell thing?"

"I did notice," she confirmed and wrapped the blanket tighter around herself.

"I was so angry suddenly, but not only at them, mainly at you as well," he admitted.

"I figured from the whole 'blowing the heads up experiment'," she said with a tiny smile.

"Sweets told me I was grieving and he also asked me if I wanted Angela back," he went on.

"What?" Cam said surprised.

"He didn't mean it like that... it's hard to explain out of context. He basically pointed out a flaw in my logic," Hodgins tried to explain. "The whole time I tried to make up my mind and decide between you and kids and I couldn't do it. And it's no wonder, because that's not the decision I have to make. The whole thing was just... wrong." At that Cam looked even more confused than she had been during his rambling before. "I can't decide between you and kids because there won't be any kids without you," he said and stopped for a second so they could both let his words sink in. "What Sweets made me see is that no matter what woman would come along after you, I wouldn't want kids with her. Angela was the one who brought up the topic back when we were together and I agreed. But I... I really only _long_ for kids with _you. _So if you don't want any then I simply have to deal with it and accept it, appreciate what I have and how lucky we are. I love you and if you're not going to be the one who'll be bearing my kids, then so be it. No Hodgins offspring," he said, slightly out of breath and looked at her again. "After all even if we decided to have kids, it doesn't mean that it would happen and I wouldn't leave you then either."

"That is the sweetest declaration of love anyone has ever made to me," Cam smiled at him, truly touched. She held out one hand to him and he took it and let her pull him on the sofa next to her. She pressed her lips to his in a short kiss and cupped his cheek with her hand. "I broke down on Christmas when I talked to my dad and I told him about the pregnancy," Cam admitted.

"Oh boy," he muttered. "I'm so dead."

"He was great. He was there for me, for the first time in a really long time. I was suddenly overcome with grief for everything I lost: my mother, Andrew, Michelle, our baby..." she admitted and he pulled her closer to him. "I had an… epiphany, yes I think that's the right word, on New Year's Eve, when I suddenly saw you there with us, with my dad and Michelle. And I could imagine us with kids, keeping the crazy family traditions alive that my mother started," she told him hesitatingly.

"Does that mean...?" he smiled and his eyes sparkled with joy.

"It means that I think we should definitely try at one point. How about we first decide that this stupid time apart is over and see what happens?" she grinned, stroking over his cheek. "Seems like we both made a decision the other one can live with."

"Great idea," he nodded and kissed her. "We both realized that no matter what, we only want it with each other."

"We can't wait for too long though, because I'm not getting any younger," she told him and his smile brightened even more.

"But I don't want you to feel pressured. When you're ready to try and have a baby, we'll do that and if you don't feel ready, then that's just the way it is," he said and she nodded.

"Sounds good," Cam replied and gave him another kiss.

"Then move in with me and we can start right away," he told her and raised his eyebrows suggestively.

"We have to ask Michelle first," she laughed at his enthusiasm and leaned back, slowly lying down on the couch and pulling him down with her.

"As if she'd really say no," he snorted and kicked off his shoes and tried to take off his jacket, while she kept her hold on him.

"She might surprise us by just being a teenager," she wondered and took his scarf off, then threw it on the table.

"Michelle_ loves_ me," he said exaggeratedly. "Probably even more than you do," he added and scrunched up his face when she started laughing. "Ok, that sounded wrong," he admitted.

"Oh yeah," Cam kept laughing and he finally managed to take his jacket off. "Back again for five minutes and already making a mess out of my place," she told him when she saw his shoes on the floor, his jacket hanging off the couch and his scarf on the table.

"And you love it," he grinned cockily and finally lay down on top of her.

"I do," she nodded and let her fingers glide through his hair.

"And you love me," he smiled even wider.

"I do," she said again.

"Will you say 'I do' to everything I say tonight? Cause I might get tempted to fly off to Vegas with you," he laughed and she playfully slapped his shoulder.

"That's something my dad would really kill you for," she told him.

"Will you tell me what happened between you and your dad on Christmas?" he asked, changing the topic back to something more serious.

"I will," she said. "But not tonight please," she pleaded.

"Not tonight," he agreed. "There are more important things to do tonight."

"Oh, like what?" she smiled up at him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I can think of something," he grinned back and kissed her again, longer this time. When he wanted to pull back she held him close and deepened the tender kiss. With a sigh he closed his eyes and cupped her cheek with one hand, while the other tangled in her long hair.

"You'll stay the night?" she asked against his lips when he flipped them over, afraid he would crush her with his weight.

"Do you really need to ask?" he smiled and kissed her again. She melted against him as they lay kissing on the couch, his hands slowly wandering under her shirt, their legs tangled together.

"Oh boy... that's something I didn't miss while you two were being crazy," Michelle busted them and they froze. Then they all started laughing and Michelle took her shoes off and walked over to them.

"Hi Michelle," Hodgins grinned sheepishly from under Cam.

"Hi Dr. Hodgins, nice to have you back," she laughed. "Although that means I have to play babysitter again," she sighed dramatically and sat down in the recliner where Hodgins had sat earlier that evening.

"I don't think you two mind that I change the channel? It's not like you're paying attention anyway," Michelle teased them. Cam giggled and rested her head against Hodgins chest, letting him envelope her in a tight hug.

"You're ok down there or do you want me to move?" she asked him, afraid she would be too heavy after a while.

"Don't you dare!" he replied and tightened his hug on her.

"Just an offer," she mumbled against his chest and felt him playing with her hair again. Soon his hands glided over her shoulders to her back, massaging her neck. Completely caught up in what he was doing he first kissed her forehead and then peppered random kisses all over her face and made her purr in contentment.

"Please, guys! I don't want to see _or_ hear any of this," Michelle complained.

"Sorry," Cam apologized embarrassed while Hodgins just chuckled.

"How about we go to bed early today?" he asked Cam in a whisper, his breath tickling her skin giving her goose bumps.

"In half an hour? Now is just too obvious," she whispered back.

"You know what?" Michelle asked annoyed, because she had heard what they had said, the TV not loud enough to drown out their whispers. "Why don't you go to your room, I go to mine and use my headphones to watch TV, and tomorrow morning when we meet at breakfast we'll pretend this conversation never happened?" she said, already sitting up.

"Sounds good," Hodgins shrugged while Cam was too embarrassed to speak.

"Ok, then see you in the morning," Michelle told them with an eye roll and a wave, and walked into her room and firmly closed the door behind her.

"You heard the kid, let's go," Hodgins laughed when he saw Cam's stunned expression and pulled her off the couch and into his arms.

"If I had known as much about my parents sex life as Michelle does about ours, I'd probably have killed myself," she told him while she switched off the TV and then followed him to the bedroom.

"Oh God!" he exclaimed and scrunched up his face.

"Oh, now you're mortified?" she laughed at him this time. "You wanna sleep out on the couch, just to prove a point?"

"No way," he said, closed the door behind him, wrapped his arms around her waist, and buried his face in the crook of her neck. Cam only laughed and then turned around in his arms. The kiss was soft and tender at first as they explored each other anew after all these weeks apart. Slowly Cam unbuttoned his shirt while his hands were back under her top. He got out of the grey fabric and let it drop to the ground without stopping the kiss for a second. When he stood before her in his T-shirt and jeans she pulled back from him, playing with the hem of his shirt.

"How about we celebrate with a nice hot bubble bath?" she smiled shyly at him.

"Great idea," he told her with another kiss. "Do you have champagne here?"

"No, but I think there's still red wine in the kitchen," she said. "You get it?"

"Sure. Anything else?" he asked her, still holding her tight.

"No, just hurry," she grinned and watched him walk out of the room. While he was gone she took the bathrobe he had forgotten at her place out of the closet and hung it back on the bathroom door next to hers. Next, she ran the water so it could heat up and took the candles from the shelf in the bathroom and placed them on the rim of the tub. She lit them before she switched on the CD player she had left in the bathroom when she had taken another relaxing bath a few days ago.

"Wow, didn't know you had candles in here," Hodgins grinned when he came back and locked the door behind him.

"You found the wine?" she asked him with a smile.

"Yes, I did," he said and showed her the bottle and the glasses when she turned around. Cam dimmed the light, took the bottle and the glasses from him, put them on the edge of the tub and wrapped her arms around him again. She didn't say anything, but kissed him softly before she pulled his shirt over his head. He followed her lead and took off her shirt as well. They took their respective shorts and jeans off and he helped her into the now filled bathtub. The scent of the bubble bath filled the room and he glided in behind her.

"Can you hand me one of the hair clips?" she asked him, remembering her hair as she started to lean back against him. "Sure babe," he replied and reached over to the shelf and handed her a clip. She twirled her hair and wrapped it up so it wouldn't get wet, then secured it with the clip. Meanwhile he filled the glasses with wine and handed her one when she leaned back against him, sitting in between his legs.

"To us," she smiled happily at him.

"To us, baby," he replied and kissed her lips before they sipped their wine.

"I missed you calling me that," she admitted after she swallowed.

"Good to know I was missed," he grinned and put his glass down.

"Of course you were," she said and pulled his head down to her. She put everything she had in the kiss and showed him how much she had really missed him.

"When will you move in?" he asked her slightly out of breath once they broke the kiss.

"If it was just me I'd say tomorrow, but I really have to talk to Michelle first."

"If she doesn't want to move out of here I will just move in," he shrugged with a teasing grin.

"We'd all drive each other nuts," she laughed.

"It's up to her to decide whether she wants to live in close quarters and know everything about each other or if she wants some space and spare herself some unwanted knowledge," he replied laughingly.

"I'll talk to her tomorrow," Cam laughed.

"When can you get out of your lease?" he asked her, pulling her even closer to him.

"I don't have one. The condo is fully paid," she told him and took her glass again.

"You'll have to think about if you want to rent it out or sell it," he nodded.

"Tomorrow. Today I don't want to think anymore," Cam smiled and took his glass out of his hand.

"I definitely like the sound of that," he grinned back and brought his lips down to hers.

* * *

In the dark she could only make out his silhouette and feel the rising and falling of his chest as he breathed in and out slowly and deeply. Her head, which was resting on his chest, moved with him. Usually the slight movement of his respiration lulled her to sleep, but not that night. She looked up at him and it occurred to her that for the first time in weeks he looked peaceful and calm and the one deep wrinkle that had been present on his forehead nearly constantly over the last few weeks was gone. She reached up and stroked softly with her thumb over the skin of his forehead and down his cheek. His stubble was longer than it usually had been and his hair was longer than it had been in nearly two years. He had let himself go during the weeks they had been apart she realized and nuzzled her nose against his chest. Instinctively he tightened his hold on her in his sleep. She could hear his heartbeat if she concentrated on it in the silence of the room as she pressed her ear to his skin. She had to smile when she realized that he now smelled like her girlish bubble bath.

He sighed deeply in his sleep and again she tilted her head so she could look at his face. As she looked at him she thought of their time apart and of the talk they had had earlier. No matter what, he had said and now that she thought about it she wondered if he even knew what he was saying. She felt a familiar panic in her gut, making her stomach clench painfully and her heart speed up. Suddenly she felt sick to her stomach and tried to untangle from him to get out of bed. He didn't let her go though and his eyes fluttered open when she tried harder.

"Where you goin'?" he mumbled sleepily and blinked down at her.

"Bathroom," she said and tried to smile in the semi-darkness. The shaking in her voice however had already given her away.

"What's wrong?" he asked her and sat up a bit, then reached over to switch on the light, but she stopped him by placing her hand on his arm.

"No, please," she begged and he leaned back against the pillows without letting her go.

"Baby, talk to me," he requested confused when he felt hot tears on his skin.

"I'm sorry," she sniffed and tried to hold the tears back and her emotions in.

"Don't be sorry, it's ok. Whatever it is, just let it out. I'm here," he said and hoped that for once she would really open up, now that he had caught her in a state of panic. He had noticed her wide eyes and her labored breathing. He knew the attempt to run when he saw it.

"I know. You always are," she replied, her voice shaking even more.

"Just calm down. Everything is alright," he said and slowly stroked over her back to calm her down. He didn't have the slightest idea what was going on, but he had the suspicion that it had something to do with their time apart and what she had talked about with her father.

"But what if..." she didn't finish the sentence and tried to untangle from him again.

"Camille?" he used her full name.

"What if I keep having ectopic pregnancies? What if I have more miscarriages or can't get pregnant?" she asked him in a rush.

"Why are you worrying about this now? I thought we agreed that we'll just see what happens," he replied confused.

"You're such a good guy, you're good looking, you're rich... you could have any woman and here you are with me. I'm a mess, I broke up with you twice already, I'm older, I'm bossy and bitchy. You keep surprising me with romantic trips and expensive presents and I have nothing in return to give you. And I know that you say that you don't need anything, but what about in five years? What if in five years we don't have kids because I can't have any? Or we have kids and it's not enough?" she rambled and he let her, but held his breath. Where was his kick-ass, bossy girlfriend that could knock back shots and play poker with the best of them? At the same time he felt nearly relieved, knowing that for the first time ever she was letting him see how vulnerable and insecure she was. He didn't say anything, just held her and waited for her to go on.

"It was my fault. I couldn't be what he wanted and couldn't give him what he wanted so he looked for it in other women. I tried so hard, but I just... I wasn't good enough," she said and he knew that she was talking about Andrew now. "I'm an even bigger mess today and I'm older. If I wasn't good enough then, how can I be now? For you?" she asked.

"I love you," was the only thing he said, held her tightly against him and kissed her forehead, while he was still rubbing over her back.

"You think you do," she replied quietly.

"Don't do this," he said and sounded hurt suddenly. "Don't question my love or my intentions. And please don't question yourself. Neither of us are perfect and we know it, but that doesn't mean that we're not able to love or be loved. I know you were hurt badly, I was too, but don't let our pasts ruin our future," he told her and stroked her ponytail out of the way so he could see her eyes.

"What if I really can't give you the family you want?" she asked him again.

"Then we'll see what we'll be comfortable with and do whatever we think we have to do. And if that means that we'll have to wait for Michelle to give us grandkids, then so be it," he replied.

"I always wanted kids. I had just given up hope that it would happen for me," she admitted.

"Then we will do everything to make sure you'll be waddling around one day," he grinned and managed to make her smile.

"I wanted our baby, Jack. I really did," she said and buried her face in his chest.

"Me, too," he said quietly. "But I don't want you to feel pressured. No panicking, ok? My mom always said '_Everything happens for a reason'_, and the same goes for things that don't happen."

"You suddenly believe in fate?" she asked him with a tiny smile.

"Always have," he chuckled. "But don't tell Dr. B. or she won't trust my scientific results anymore."

* * *

When Cam woke up the next morning she felt like she had lost two hundred pounds last night. Everything seemed lighter, especially her heart. The weight to which she had gotten so used to and which had sent her into mild panic attacks from time to time over the last ten years- it was gone. She smiled up at Jack, only to find him still asleep. They had talked some more last night and she had finally understood that they were pretty much in the same boat. Her mother had died and with her all normal interaction with her family. So they both hadn't had any left for years. Andrew had cheated on her and she had had to leave behind Michelle. He and Angela had broken up and she had trampled over his heart several times, while he had still not been over her. And now they had each other, and Michelle. She leaned up and pressed her lips against his, coaxing him awake with kisses.

"Mmmh... sleep. Kiss later," he muttered still half asleep, but pulled her closer anyway. Suspiciously he opened one eye when she pulled back but he could feel that she was still looking at him. "You look happy," he stated when he saw her smile.

"I am," she grinned.

"I'm happy you are," he smiled back and pecked her lips. "But now go back to sleep and let me rest," he requested.

"I wore you out?" she giggled and his smile widened at the sound.

"These last weeks were like an emotional rollercoaster. I think I deserve some calm and quiet floating until you send me on the next ride," he said and yawned widely. "At least I won't get bored," he added and closed his eyes.

"I love you," she sighed happily and lay back down, but reached over to take her book from the night stand. It was light enough to read after all. She only read half a page though before she was asleep again as well.

**TBC**


	13. Chapter 13

I have to travel this Friday, so I once again have to update Wednesday. Hope that won't stop you from reading.

* * *

**Chapter 13: Family won, family lost**

Hodgins awoke again around ten when someone rang the doorbell. He looked to his side and found Cam asleep with her face lying halfway on the open book she still held in her hands. The bell rang again but Cam didn't even stir, so he knew he had to get up, otherwise whoever it was would wake up Michelle and Michelle didn't like to be woken up on the weekends. He put on his boxer shorts and a grey T-shirt and then hurried to the door. He pressed the button of the intercom and asked who was there, but he didn't get an answer. Instead there was a knock on the door that made him jump slightly because he hadn't expected it.

"Oh, um, hi," Hodgins said when he opened the door and came face to face with Cam's father and her sister Felicia.

"Hodgins, I see you're back from your vacation," Mr. Saroyan said and looked him up and down with disapproval.

"Yeah, I am," he nodded and finally realized that he had to take a step back so he could let them in. "Come on in," he said and tugged nervously on the hem of his shirt, wishing he had put on his jeans at least.

"Where are my girls?" Cam's father asked and put an emphasize on the "my" while Felicia was grinning wickedly.

"Still asleep," he replied truthfully and took a deep breath. "Why don't you, um, sit down and I see you bring breakfast, so I, uh, will go and get Cam," he rambled helplessly and hurried back into Cam's bedroom. He pushed the door close behind him, but missed that it remained ajar.

"Cam, baby, you have to wake up," he said and shook her slightly by her shoulder.

"Mmmh, no," she groaned and tried to move away from him.

"Come on," he begged and made her roll onto her back.

"Kiss," she requested without opening her eyes and a slight pout on her face. He quickly pecked her lips and wanted to pull back when she slung her arms around his neck and held him close. "That wasn't a kiss," she said and opened her eyes.

"Babe, we really don't have time for this bec…" she cut him off by pulling him to her and kissing him firmly. Even though danger was waiting just outside the door Hodgins couldn't resist kissing her back because the feeling of having her in his arms again was still too overwhelming. As usual he possessively cupped her cheek and deepened the kiss. His fingertips brushed against some strands of her hair and he gave into the urge to tangle the other hand in her black curls. Cam moaned quietly when he softly scrapped his teeth along her bottom lip, something he knew drove her crazy. He sat up and pulled her with him, not caring that the blanket slipped down and exposed her naked upper body. Cam leaned more into him to avoid the cold air and warm her skin against his shirt.

"I sure wish I had you as my personal alarm clock," Felicia's voice came from the door and the two jumped apart, Hodgins literally jumping off the bed. Felicia had pushed the ajar door open and watched them with an "I got ya" grin.

"What are you doing here?" Cam asked her sister and pulled the blanket up to her chin.

"Dad and I thought we'd surprise you with breakfast. We didn't know you had your own surprise already here," Felicia grinned.

"Dad is here as well?" Cam shrieked and looked accusingly at Hodgins.

"That's what I wanted to tell you when you shut me up," he defended himself.

"We'll be right out," Cam muttered in her sisters direction and made an attempt to get up, but stopped when Felicia remained standing in the doorway. "Could you close the door now? And be quiet, Michelle is still asleep," she told her and quirked one eyebrow. Felicia finally turned around with another glance at Hodgins and closed the door behind her.

"Better safe than sorry," Hodgins muttered when he got up from the bed and locked the door from the inside.

"I've obviously been too nice to them if they now start randomly stopping by on a Saturday morning," Cam grumbled and finally got out of bed.

"And I should stop opening doors dressed in my underwear," Hodgins grumbled along and picked up his clothes from the bathroom floor.

"There goes our nice quiet morning," Cam whined while she put on underwear and watched Hodgins as he brushed his teeth.

"Your sister is creepy. Did you notice how she stared at my groin?" he asked when he spit out the foam before he rinsed his mouth. Cam only nodded, her own mouth full of toothpaste by now and dressed in jeans and a simple blue shirt.

"Can I go like this?" she asked after she had brushed out her hair and left it down, falling openly over her shoulders and her back.

"So beautiful and minty fresh," he smiled, pulled her close by her waist, and kissed her again.

"Hey Jack?" she said questioningly and played with the hairs on the back of his neck.

"Mmmh?" he replied and pulled back a bit from the embrace to look at her.

"Even if it means risking your life: Would you be ok if we just try to act like we always do and don't put on a show for my dad? We really got closer on Christmas and he basically told me that my mom always informed him about everything anyway. I would feel weird now pretending to be less than we are," she explained and looked curiously at him.

"So you're seriously asking me to kiss you and hold your hand in front of your dad?" he wanted clarification.

"Kind of," she nodded.

"I'd love to, even if it gets me killed," he grinned and pressed his lips to hers again. Arm in arm they left the bathroom and emerged from the bedroom a second later. Felicia was setting the table while Cam's father had busied himself in the kitchen.

"Hey Dad," Cam smiled when she saw him and kissed him on the cheek.

"Good morning, Cami. We thought you'd be up already," he told her and kept making orange juice.

"No, we all like to sleep in," she smiled, stepping in front of Hodgins so she could watch her father better. He was making a mess out of her kitchen and she contemplated stopping him, when Hodgins wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and pulled her towards him. It was something that he always did when it was just the three of them, but it felt a bit weird now that he'd done it with her father in the room and her sister not too far away.

"We'll clean up together when they're gone," Hodgins whispered in her ear and she turned around to him with a smile that lit up her whole face.

"You know me too well," she beamed at him and pecked his lips.

"Cami, can you start making pancakes? I didn't want to bring them, because they would've been cold by now," her father interrupted and Cam turned back around to him.

"Dad, for the safety of all of us I think it's better if Jack makes them," she replied and pinched Hodgins' arm when she felt him chuckle and nod behind her.

"Hey! I just totally agree with you that you should stay as far away from the stove as possible," he laughed while rubbing his arm.

"Camille you help your sister meanwhile? I'm not sure she knows where she can find the things she needs," her father interrupted them once again and made Cam sigh.

"I better go out there before she starts digging through our things," she rolled her eyes at Hodgins. She stroked her hand over his arm and let her fingers glide over his as she left the room. He watched her and winked at her when she turned around again, which made her laugh and roll her eyes at him, before she disappeared around the corner to help her sister.

"So, um, how was your Christmas Mr. Saroyan?" Hodgins tried to find something to talk about with Cam's father.

"It was really… interesting. I had expected you to be there, but Cam told me you preferred to go skiing," her father replied while Hodgins took the flour and the other ingredients out of the cupboards and the fridge. He placed them all on the counter while he contemplated what to say to that and then decided that he would just be as blunt as usual. Her father hadn't liked him from the very beginning, but he would have to learn to live with him. He was in this for the long run and he knew Cam was as well.

"I think we both know that I wasn't simply on a skiing trip. Cam told me that she talked to you about what happened," he said without going into detail because while she had mentioned that she had talked to her father, she had yet to tell him more about their talk.

"You shouldn't let her push you away," Mr. Saroyan replied.

"I needed time, but that doesn't mean that I had given up. I won't let her run from me," he promised and placed the pan on the stove.

"I guess that means that we'll see more of each other from now on," her father replied and turned to look at him for the first time.

"I'll be around," Hodgins nodded.

"Just know that I'll watch you and if you hurt her I will kill you," he threatened and Hodgins had to laugh about this.

"I'm sure Booth will help you hide the body afterwards," he grinned.

"Smells great in here," Felicia gushed when she sauntered into the kitchen and placed a hand on her father's shoulder but looked at Hodgins as he poured some more batter into the pan.

"I agree," Cam said when she came around the corner as well and slung an arm around Hodgins' middle and kissed his cheek.

"You have blueberries here or anything else I could add?" he asked her.

"Nope, we need to go shopping later. No one has been cooking here," she shook her head.

"Michelle didn't feed you?" he said softly and looked a bit worried.

"Sometimes, but not as regularly as you do," she smiled at him. They both knew it wasn't Michelle's job to look after Cam and make sure she ate something decent. Then again when Hodgins wasn't around no one else was there and Cam wasn't always that good at taking care of herself.

"Guess you're lucky I'm back," he smiled back and hugged her to him with one arm while he flipped the pancakes with his other. Cam didn't reply, but leaned her cheek against his shoulder and nuzzled her nose against his neck.

"You two are sickening," Felicia sighed when she saw them.

"Less pancakes for me to make if you're not eating with us," Hodgins shot back and Cam laughed quietly against his shoulder.

"Where is Michelle? Is she still asleep?" Mr. Saroyan piped up, finally done with making the orange juice.

"Yes, but I should probably wake her," Cam replied, untangled from Hodgins and left the kitchen to wake her daughter.

"Dad, do you know if Michelle drinks coffee as well in the morning or do we need to prepare something else?" Felicia asked her father when Cam was gone.

"I don't know," Mr. Saroyan shrugged and turned to Hodgins with a questioning expression.

"Coffee's fine," he told them and arranged the pancakes on a plate.

"You seem to be around a lot," Felicia observed and he wasn't too sure if it was a compliment or an accusation.

"I am. We usually spend the weekends at my place though," he told her as if to point out that they had been lucky that they were even home.

"Where is it again that you live?" Cam's sister asked innocently although he was sure he had never told her.

"Across town, between Rock Creek Park and the DuPont Circle," Hodgins replied and left the kitchen carrying the pancakes out into the living room.

"Closer to the park or closer to the Circle?" Cam's father wanted to know and followed him with the orange juice.

"Closer to the park. Basically directly at the park," he explained but left out the fact that his estate kind of belonged to the park, or parts of the park to his estate, whichever way you saw it.

"Look who's finally joined us," Cam grinned when she came from Michelle's room dragging the teenager behind her by her hand. Michelle was dressed in jeans and a shirt but seemed barely awake and followed Cam with her eyes closed. When Cam turned left to walk around the table Michelle walked on straight and crashed into Hodgins, which made him laugh.

"Good morning Michelle," he grinned when she didn't step away from him, but just rested her head against his shoulder. "You're sure she's actually awake?" he asked Cam and wrapped an arm around Michelle's shoulder to support her just in case she was really still asleep.

"No, I'm not, but she will wake up at some point," Cam shrugged and sat down.

"You're cruel," Jack laughed and slowly moved with Michelle in the direction of her chair. "Come on, kid, sit down," he grinned and pulled away from her.

"Nooo, you're comfy," she mumbled without opening her eyes.

"Ah, she speaks," Cam's father laughed and Michelle finally opened her eyes.

"Morning," she greeted Cam's father and finally lifted her head from Hodgins shoulder and plopped down in her chair. While she rubbed her eyes with both hands Hodgins poured her a cup of coffee, added two spoons of sugar and some milk, and handed it to her.

"Here," he smiled and then sat down at the only remaining free chair between Cam and her father.

* * *

"Baby, can you hand me the strawberries?" Hodgins asked Cam nearly two hours later when they were still sitting around the table eating breakfast.

"Sure," she replied and handed him the bowl while he took another pancake and placed it on his plate. Now there was only one pancake left and although everyone was pretty full, as soon as Felicia and Cam saw that they were down to the last one, they both reached out to take it.

"Hey, that's mine! I saw it first," Felicia exclaimed when Cam stuck her fork in the pancake on one side while Felicia's was stuck in the other.

"You had three more than I did, so that is mine," Cam argued back.

"You're the host here, you should treat your guests right and that means stepping back and letting them have the food if they are still hungry," her sister wasn't even close to giving up. While Cam's father barely reacted and kept eating his fruit salad, Michelle and Hodgins exchanged looks that made it clear they thought the sisters had both lost their minds.

"You brought the breakfast," Cam shot back.

"Not the pancakes!" Felicia insisted.

"Just share the pancake," Mr. Saroyan tried to stop them from attacking each other.

"No way!"

"That is mine!" Felicia insisted.

"You know, if you didn't spend all your money on clothes you can't afford you would have some to buy food and pay the rent for once," Cam attacked her sister verbally.

"At least I don't have to score myself a billionaire to have some food on the table," the prompt reply came.

"This is my condo, fully paid for by the way, and I can throw you out of it anytime I want," Cam said louder and stood up from her chair.

"Ok, fine, I'll leave. But with the pancake," Felicia mirrored her stance.

"Never!" Cam said and pulled the plate in her direction when Felicia lightly stabbed her hand with the fork.

"Cam, why don't you sit down and have my pancake?" Hodgins interrupted them before they would really hurt each other. "I'm not that hungry and it even has the last strawberries on it," he tried to make it sound good and not like she was giving in. She eyed the pancake on his plate warily and then sat down slowly.

"She stabbed me," Cam told Hodgins with a pout and held out the hand to him. He couldn't actually see anything but placed a kiss on it anyway.

"Better?" he asked her and stroked over the spot with his thumb.

"Mmh. At least she'll have something decent to eat as opposed to the instant noodles she usually has," Cam shot one last insult at her sister and accepted Hodgins plate.

"Felicia sit down and eat," Mr. Saroyan told her younger sister, finally reacting in some way when Felicia remained standing and glared at her older sister.

"I hope you choke on it," Cam muttered and then opened her mouth when Hodgins fed her the first strawberry just to shut her up.

"I don't want it anymore. It's cold now," Felicia spat and pushed the last pancake away from her.

"Oh my God," Michelle said dramatically and rolled her eyes. "I'm gonna go to my room now, because for all I know this could be contagious," she said and pointed from one sister to the other. "And the pancakes are coming with me," she decided, took both plates, and walked to her room.

"Don't leave me," Hodgins whined and held out one hand in her direction.

"Sorry," Michelle shrugged and closed the door behind her.

* * *

"Cam, angel, love of my life," Hodgins interrupted her later that day when they were on their way back home to her place from grocery shopping. "Will you please stop talking about your sister now," he begged. "You are both completely nuts. Although your lunacy only seems to come out when you're around family," he told her after she wouldn't stop complaining about her sister. The funny thing was, every time he agreed with her she would attack him and defend her sister.

"Fine," she agreed with a sigh. "My father likes you," she stated then, totally out of the blue for him.

"And you base that assumption on the way he glares at me or because he tried to break my hand again when he left?" he replied unbelievingly.

"I base it on the fact that he told me on Christmas," she said and he looked surprised.

"You sure he wasn't talking about someone else?" he wanted to know.

"He said, and I quote 'Hodgins is a good guy' and coming from my father that's basically a declaration of love," Cam smiled and turned to look at him while he drove through the hectic Saturday afternoon traffic.

"He sure has a weird way of showing it," he replied. "But he advised me today not to let you push me away, maybe that's a good sign?" he added then.

"Oh so he thinks that everything was my fault again? Nice," Cam huffed.

"He didn't say that and I'm sure he didn't mean it that way. You're just really... difficult, for lack of a better word," Hodgins admitted and quickly looked at her. The car doors were locked after all, so at least she couldn't run. She could only attack him.

"Ok, fine, I'm not always easy, is that what you want to hear?" she got defensive.

"No, I'm just pointing out that your father seems to know that. And you know it as well, so don't pretend to be offended. I just wasn't sure what to reply when he gave me his advice," he quickly replied and sought out her left hand and took it in his right. "I wasn't sure what you told him."

"I told him about the pregnancy and about our disagreement concerning a future with kids and a family. I think I also told him that you went away to think," Cam sounded calmer again.

"So basically he knows everything?"

"Is that a problem?" she sounded unsure.

"No, maybe a bit weird. But I'm glad you talked to someone. I was worried that you would try and keep everything in again," he replied.

"I hadn't planned on it, but it all kind of burst out," Cam admitted.

"You need to talk more, babe. About important things I mean. If you don't want to talk to me then talk to your dad or to Booth or someone. It's not good when you bottle everything up and it doesn't help you to resolve anything," he stopped at a traffic light and looked at her. "Welton hurt you badly back then and I'm pretty banged up as well, but we need to learn to let that go or at least talk about it," he requested.

"Wouldn't it be weird when you say something or do something and then all of a sudden I say 'Sorry, Jack, but that scares the crap out of me, because that's what Andrew said right before he cheated on me again'?"

"Maybe at first. But then I'll know what's going on instead of you just putting another brick onto that wall you've built around yourself. I can't read your mind or guess what you're feeling all the time," Hodgins tried to reason with her.

"I sometimes don't know what I'm feeling either. When it gets too much at first it hurts and then I'm just numb. The pain about the whole pregnancy thing didn't hit me until Christmas," she managed to open up.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when the pain came," he placed a kiss on her hand.

"It would have been nice if you had been there after the talk with my dad," she nodded and gave his hand a squeeze.

"Next time I'll be around," he promised her with a small smile.

"Next time I'll talk to you," she replied and smiled back at him. "Oh, and did you catch that my dad invited us to mass next Sunday?" she asked him then, remembering the fact.

"God, that means we have to go, doesn't it?" he groaned.

"Oh yeah," she laughed.

"You know how long it's been since I've been in a church?"

"No, I don't even know what religion you are," she teased him.

"I'm a fallen Episcopalian," he informed her.

"The religion of the rich and famous," Cam grinned as he pulled into her garage.

"One fourth of all Presidents of the USA were Episcopalians, so of course we Hodgins' have to be as well. If we believe in it or not," he rolled his eyes and laughed with her when they got out of the car to unload their groceries.

* * *

"And, how is it going?" Cam asked Michelle and Hodgins when she walked up to them on Monday afternoon. They were sitting on the orange couch up on the mezzanine.

"I think I finally understood at least part of it," Michelle sighed and pushed her chemistry papers away from her.

"When do you have to be back at school?" Cam wanted to know and sat down next to Hodgins.

"I have to leave in ten minutes," the teen replied. "Can you give me your card? I want to use the bathroom before I go," she requested then and Cam nodded and unclipped her card from her skirt.

"She's really got it now?" she asked Hodgins when Michelle was out of earshot.

"She understands the process, but she still needs to learn the formulas and periodic table. I can't help her with that," he shrugged.

"I understand her, I wasn't too fond of chemistry either," she replied and leaned back against the backrest of the couch.

"Didn't you need it for your medicine studies?" he raised his eyebrows and moved closer to her.

"Sure, but even till this day I know only the basics of what I have to know and the rest I have to look up," she admitted. "Not that you would understand, genius," she teased him.

"Me being a genius now helps your daughter to not get a D in chemistry," he grinned in reply and made her roll her eyes.

"I love it how modest you all are around here," she said. "And speaking of genius: Do you already know what you're gonna make for dinner tonight?"

"No idea," he shook his head.

"I thought maybe we could go to the Italian restaurant around the corner from my place. We haven't been there in a while and some decent tagliatelle with shrimp sounds heavenly," Cam said.

"Sounds great," he agreed.

"What does?" Michelle asked when she came back at that moment.

"Rico's tonight," Cam replied.

"This time I'm not eating any main course. I'll go straight to the Tiramisu," Michelle said enthusiastically and made the two adults laugh.

"You'll get sick," Hodgins told her but she waved him off.

"I have to go, you two have to work, so see you tonight," Michelle said and slung her backpack over her shoulder.

"Bye Michelle," Hodgins waved when she had hugged Cam and waved at him while walking away.

"Love you," she said to them.

"Love you, too," Cam replied and slowly got up. "And we should go back to work. I'm drowning in paper work."

"Something interesting or just the usual crap?" Hodgins wanted to know and got up as well.

"The usual," she shrugged.

"When are we leaving today? Six-ish?" he wanted to know.

"Yup, six-ish. See you later," she replied and pecked his lips before she hurried off to her office and he walked back to his own lab to do the tests he had pushed back when Michelle had shown up with her problems in chemistry.

* * *

"Angela, quick question. Uh, is this your home pregnancy test?" Cam asked Angela a few hours later when she walked into her office with a home pregnancy test in her hand and a panicked look on her face. She had already spoken to Brennan, who had told her that it wasn't her test. Since only four people had used the bathroom she had found it in and she could rule out two by now, one being herself, she hoped that it was Angela's. The only other option would be Michelle and that would mean that she would have to kill her.

"I beg your pardon?" Angela chuckled and stood up straight.

"Are you pregnant? Please say yes," Cam begged but only got a wide eyed and amused stare in reply. When she felt that tingling sensation on her neck she knew that they weren't alone and she already knew who was standing behind her. "Oh," she said. She had hoped that he wouldn't find out about it, because they were both still hurting about their own pregnancy drama from weeks ago.

"Hey. Don't look at me," he joked when she just looked at him.

"I'm so sorry. I thought we were alone," she told him and he knew why she was reacting so weird to his presence.

"Hey, you... you don't have to keep it a secret from me. If, you know, you're pregnant. I mean, I can be happy for you and Wendell," he told Angela and looked at Cam to let her know that he was trying at least to be ok with it.

"Wait a minute. Why are you asking me?" Angela asked Cam.

"Well, it isn't mine and Dr. Brennan doesn't make life choices without a Boolean flowchart, so I hoped it might be you. I'm not crazy. I'm not... crazy," Cam pointed out to them when they kept looking at her like she had two heads. When they didn't say anything she turned around and left. She was shocked. It wasn't Angela's test either and that left only Michelle. She needed a moment to digest it.

"What was that all about?" Hodgins asked Angela, hoping that she would know because he had missed the beginning of their talk.

"Yeah, well, what makes Cam crazy?" Angela asked.

"When I do experiments," he shrugged, still not knowing what she was getting at.

"And..." Suddenly it clicked in his head.

"Michelle?"

"Michelle," Angela confirmed.

"Ooh. Sixteen. Ouch," Hodgins commented as he put the puzzle together in his head and it registered with him what it meant.

* * *

"Really? Cam, these guys won't let me leave," Sweets complained as Cam left Angela's office and blew her plan to have a moment to herself. She didn't even notice that he had called her by her first name or that he sounded like a little kid that was calling for his big sister to protect him.

"What's going on?" she asked him and walked up to him.

"Everyone in this facility is confined to this facility," a tall stranger informed her as another guy rolled in a gurney.

"I'm in charge of this facility," she let him know but he didn't seem impressed.

"Not tonight, Dr. Saroyan," he told her and then turned to his men. "Please secure the exits."

"Who are you guys?" Sweets spoke up.

"I am Mr. White from the General Services Administration," the man replied.

"The people we order paper cups and pencils from?" Cam asked him disbelievingly.

"What's going on?" Brennan asked and came out of her office.

"Ah, Dr. Brennan. Hello. Your government requires you to figure out how this person died. Until you do, we are all locked in here together as a matter of national security," Mr. White said.

"Even me?" Sweets asked him.

"He's just an FBI psychologist," Cam tried to get him out at least.

"No one in, no one out. By order of the federal government. Now, you have till dawn tomorrow to fulfill this task," Mr. White decided.

"What possible incentive do these people have to comply with your orders?" Sweets asked him and got braver by the second.

"Perhaps the fact that you're all paid by the federal government," was the reply he got.

"Threats are not really gonna work for you tonight," Cam told the stranger, knowing that while they were officially paid by the government the Institute couldn't survive without donations.

"Okay, fine. How about patriotism? Professionalism? Scientific curiosity. Take your pick. But the sooner you people figure out what killed this individual, the sooner life gets back to normal," Mr. White changed tactics. "Put it up on the platform," he instructed his people.

"Sweets can you go and inform Hodgins and Angela of our situation here while Dr. Brennan and I find out what this is about?" Cam instructed Sweets, who nodded and walked off. The "men in black" meanwhile had put a casket on the platform and opened it.

"No destructive testing is allowed, not even the smallest sample. These remains will leave in exactly the condition in which they arrived. My men and I will observe and no one enters or leaves the premises," Mr. White told Brennan and Cam while they looked at the remains.

"Now that you've kidnapped my lab and my people, maybe you could tell me why," Cam requested.

"You have not been kidnapped, Doctor. You've been seconded by your government to do your patriotic duty," he replied.

"Your 'no samples' restriction will severely limit our insights," Brennan had other worries.

"We require only cause of death. There are a number of samples in here which you may examine but, they too, must not be harmed," he said and glanced at his cell phone because he had got a text message. "Identification of these remains is priority zero. Excuse me," he said and walked off.

"Is there any way I could just persuade you to look at these and guess cause of death?" Cam asked Brennan, although she already knew the answer.

"Guess?"

"I need to get home to kill Michelle," Cam sighed.

* * *

While Sweets, Angela and Hodgins managed to call Booth and tried to get some information about what was going on, Cam and Brennan were still out on the platform trying to analyze the remains.

"Indicating multiple corrective surgeries," Brennan summed up what they had found so far.

"Which could help us positively identify these remains," Cam wondered aloud.

"No, Mr. White told us to regard identification as a zero priority," her colleague disagreed.

"I'm not as good as you are at doing what I'm told," Cam told her.

"Thank you. We can't check DNA or take bone scrapings for mass spec," the anthropologist surprised Cam with her answer and then opened a suitcase with samples in it. "Samples, particulates… these should go to Hodgins."

"Fire in the hole," Cam warned Brennan, happy that she had both a reason to see Hodgins and to startle the guys. "Hodgins!" she screamed as loud as she could.

"Oh, you said 'fire in the hole; to warn me that you intended on startling those men," Brennan understood what she had wanted to tell her before.

"Like I said, I'm not really the good soldier type," Cam grinned.

"Calcification on the left radius," Brennan went on with her observation as if nothing had happened.

"Could I suggest that cause of death probably won't be found in the extremities? Check out this skull," she tried to hurry the process along.

"Well, that would certainly be fatal," Brennan agreed.

"Blunt-force trauma?" she asked her.

"Or high-velocity gunshot."

"Was that you? Ah, who knew you could yell like that?" Hodgins asked with a smile as he hurried up to them on the platform.

"Well, she scared the guards," Brennan told him.

"I find that so hot," he couldn't stop himself and grinned at her. Cam held his look for a second and then remembered that the faster they wrapped up the case the faster she could talk to Michelle.

"That's all for you," she told him and pointed to the samples. "There are very distinctive marks on the remaining frontal bone," she turned back to the anthropologist.

"Like a metal grid scratched across it postmortem," Brennan confirmed.

"No tests that degrade the samples," Cam turned her attention back to Hodgins when she saw his look as he inspected the samples. "I'm too young to be a grandmother," she blurted out then, in her way to let Hodgins know what was going on.

"In some cultures, you're old enough to be a great-grandmother," Brennan said probably the worst thing she could say at that moment.

"But not this one," Hodgins tried to reassure his shocked girlfriend.

"I've been cogitating on the problem of how to date these bones without compromising them. I'll take one and compare it to dated bones," Brennan was solely concentrating on the case again and hurried off to bone storage and even Mr. White couldn't stop her.

"You really think it's Michelle's test?" Hodgins asked Cam quietly and stepped closer to her when Brennan was gone. Mr. White watched them again from across the room.

"There's no other option," she sighed.

"Maybe it's a false positive," he tried to stay optimistic.

"I'm double checking the sample already. But even if it's a false positive it still means that she's lying to me and is having sex with Perry," Cam sounded more sad than upset.

"I wish I could help you talk to her right now," he smiled reassuringly at her.

"Maybe you can find something in those samples?" she went along with it.

"Then I better hurry and analyze them," Hodgins replied and secretly gave her hand a squeeze so Mr. White couldn't see it. He didn't know why but somehow he had the impression that Mr. White knowing that they were an item wouldn't be good at all.

* * *

And Hodgins did find something once Angela was gone and he could concentrate on the samples. Immediately he hurried out to the platform, looking for Cam and Brennan.

"Did you find anything?" he asked them, hoping they would confirm his suspicion. They came up on the platform when they saw him, knowing by the way he stood there that he had found something.

"The victim died within months of the Limited Test Ban Treaty," Brennan reported.

"That was in 1963," he tried to whisper and crossed his arms in front of his chest as if it would help him keep in what was trying to just burst out of him.

"You look like you're about to explode," Cam noticed the state he was in. He looked at White and his guards and then gave the two women a subtle sign to follow him over to one of the PCs.

"Is there, by any chance, a nick on a right rib somewhere near the third thoracic vertebra?" he asked.

"Yes. Um, most likely caused by a transiting bullet," Brennan replied and he buried his face in his hand.

"Hodgins, you're vibrating." Cam looked worried. She had never seen him like this before. He tapped some keys on the PC and a picture of a fiber sample showed up.

"One of the fiber samples turned out to be pink wool. The bad back. A nick from a transiting bullet. 1963," he said quietly and slowly, emphasizing all the important facts and looking around him to know how far away the guards were.

"Wait. Pink wool, as in Chanel?" Cam connected the dots first.

"She never left his side," Hodgins slowly shook his head.

"Severe head wound. Oh, my God. This - is President John F. Kennedy. Why would they bring us JFK's remains after all these years?" Cam spoke out loud what he had found out.

"Because people have a thirst for the truth. And other people want to make sure that truth is never proclaimed," he told her.

"Which are these?" she wanted to know.

"Oh, I've been considering... in what kind of casket was the president buried?" Brennan stopped him from answering.

"Mahogany," he knew.

"That's a good casket. How could his remains be completely skeletonized?" Cam wondered.

"If the casket was compromised and allowed in oxygen and moisture, skeletonization could have occurred," Brennan provided a possible explanation.

"It's naive of us to imagine that Kennedy's remains were actually ever interred at Arlington. The hair I found? No cuticle or cortex. It's synthetic. As it happens, after JFK was shot, the funeral home tried a cosmetic fix with wig hair, wax, and a metal mesh holding it in place," Hodgins disagreed.

"Ah! The mesh would explain the crisscross patterns on the skull," Cam said and then changed the topic again. "I can't confront Michelle about something this big over the telephone, right?" Cam asked Brennan and Hodgins.

"What? The fact that you may be investigating the murder of the president of the United States?" Brennan didn't get it.

"No. The fact that she's pregnant," Cam clarified but the other two couldn't answer anymore because a loud shot and the splintering of glass echoed through the lab and they all turned around to see Booth stepping in. He had shot at one of the glass doors.

"Booth!" Brennan exclaimed while Hodgins moved closer to Cam to make sure she was ok.

"Hiya, Bones," he replied, holding his weapon away from him and his hands up. Angela and Sweets came rushing out of her office as two of the men in black ran into Booth and knocked him over, making him hit his head on the floor.

"Booth?" Brennan asked again.

"Bones?" came the weak reply. Mr. White, who was watching from the side, sighed and walked over to him.

"Agent Booth," he said and sounded unnerved. The two guards scrambled off the floor and then pulled him up as well and not as gently as he would have liked.

"Seeley are you ok?" Cam asked him and walked down the steps with Hodgins and Brennan trailing behind her.

"My head hurts," he replied and rubbed the back of his head.

"Let me see," she requested and walked behind him to take a look. She couldn't see anything other than the bump that was forming.

"Can you get him upstairs on the couch, I'll grab my stuff and take a look at him," Cam turned to Brennan and Hodgins. She shot Mr. White a look when he opened his mouth to disagree and he sighed again.

"I have to make a few calls," he growled and walked off, signaling his people to take their places again while the squints looked after Booth.

"I'm fine," he said while leaning on Hodgins as he led him to the stairs.

"Why don't you let Cam decide?" he asked him and was glad when he could sit him down on the couch. Cam hurried up to them as Hodgins rolled his shoulders and she placed a hand on his back, stroking softly over his shirt in a silent thank you. She did her usual flash light pupil response test and was relieved when he showed no signs of any serious injuries.

"If you get sick or feel disoriented you're going straight to the hospital, you got me?" she told him sternly and he nodded. Cam walked over to the kitchen area and got him an ice pack. "Here, put this on the bump for about fifteen minutes and stay here on the couch and relax. I don't want you wandering around the lab as long as you're still dizzy," she instructed him.

"I'm sure our friends in black over there won't let him wander anywhere," Hodgins grinned at her and followed her downstairs again.

"Hey babe?" he said when they reached her office.

"Mmh?" she replied, already a million miles away again.

"Call her and talk to her. Ask her if it's her test and then go from there," he advised.

"I just don't know how to bring it up. It would be hard to do it in person, but on the phone..." she trailed off.

"I'm sure you'll find the right words. You need to tell her anyway that we won't be home tonight."

"True," she sighed heavily.

"You want me to stay with you?" he asked her.

"I would love to have you here, but Michelle probably wouldn't approve," she replied with an apologetic smile.

"I understand," he nodded, looked around and kissed her softly when he had made sure no one was watching them. "Keep me updated, ok?" he requested.

"I will," she nodded, quickly kissed him again and walked into her office.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later she was still staring at the phone and kept picking it up, just to put it down again. She wasn't sure how to do this and thought that maybe she should wait after all until she was home. Then again she couldn't really concentrate on work as long as this was constantly on her mind.

"Awkward. Awkward. Very awkward," Angela said as she walked in.

"What's awkward?" Cam asked.

"About Michelle..." Angela started but Cam interrupted her.

"Oh, I'm going to call her right now and tell her that I need to talk to her as soon as I get out of here," she said.

"About-about the pregnancy test?" Angela wanted to know.

"She lied to me. She told me to my face that she wasn't having sex with that boy. She lied to my face," Cam sounded upset and sad about the fact that Michelle was supposedly lying to her.

"It's my pregnancy test," Angela finally admitted and Cam was so relieved that she leaned her hands against her forehead, closed her eyes. "I'm - I'm sorry, Cam. I would have told you sooner but Hodgins was in the room, and..." Angela stuttered her explanation, but Cam was not really interested in it. Michelle wasn't pregnant and she wasn't lying to her and that was all that counted for her at that moment.

"Oh, thank God. No. I mean..." she exclaimed and then realized how it must have sounded.

"It's okay," Angela said.

"You alright?" Cam asked her then, knowing how shocking a positive pregnancy test could be.

"Um, I'm a - I'm a bit in shock," Angela admitted.

"Well, does Wendell know?"

"No. No, no. Only you and I know and, I mean, really, shouldn't Wendell be the first to know? But I figured that you-you need to know," the artist stuttered.

"Because I was freaking out about Michelle. Thank you," Cam replied and was truly grateful that Angela had told her.

"Yeah," Angela just nodded and then turned around and left the office. Cam watched her leave and with the knowledge that Michelle wasn't pregnant returned her ability to think again. Again she leaned her head against her hands and closed her eyes for second. How would Hodgins react to the fact that Angela was having a baby with Wendell so shortly after they had lost theirs, she wondered.

* * *

Angela didn't waste any time and went to Hodgins directly after she left Cam. She knew that Cam would tell him as soon as she saw him, but she felt that it was her job to tell Hodgins that she was pregnant. She ran into him and asked him to come with her to her lab, where she told him.

"Oh. Wow," he felt like she had knocked the wind out of him and didn't know what to say.

"So, Wendell should be the first to know but you should be the second and since I told Cam, I-I should tell you," Angela explained why she needed to tell him. He kept looking from his hands to her and back.

"Do I say, 'Congratulations.'?" he asked her and wondered how Cam had taken the news.

"I don't know. I mean, it's not the right time. It's not the right guy," Angela tried to laugh it off at first, but his large blue eyes and the look in them made her turn serious again.

"Well, you know, Wendell, uh, he… he might rise to the occasion. I mean, you know, he's-he's a good guy," he tried to reassure her as well as himself. It just wasn't fair.

"No, I didn't mean that. I mean... a baby. I mean, you're linked to that person for the rest of your life. Like, way more than if you're married. I mean, you're linked through another human being. A soul," Angela nearly started crying as she said it and he just looked at her. He knew all of this and had been dealing with those thoughts ever since Cam had found out about her own pregnancy.

"Okay. I'm-I'm gonna say, 'Congratulations.'," he said and stood up. She kept looking at him like she was hoping or expecting something else, but he didn't know what. "Um, not for today but for how you're going to feel about this later on." Angela kept looking at him in that expectant way until she pasted a fake smile on her face.

"Well, I might not even keep it," she said and turned away from him.

"You're going to keep it, Angela. You always wanted kids. Lots of 'em," he said and managed a small smile. "I'm gonna go get the others," he said when the beeping signalized that the computer was done rendering. Angela just nodded, but couldn't say anything.

He left her office and walked over to Cam's. The door slid open and he found her sitting at her desk. He stopped when the doors glided shut again. She turned around in her chair and the second she saw the look on his face she knew that Angela had told him. She stood up and held out one hand to him, which he took when he was close enough. Then she wrapped her arms around him and kissed his temple.

She heard him breathing her in as he buried his face in her neck and wrapped his arms tightly around her waist.

"You ok?" she asked him after a moment and slightly pulled back so she could look at him.

"I will be. At the moment all I can think is 'It's not fair'," he admitted.

"I slowly get there as well. However I'm just really relieved that it wasn't Michelle's test," she said.

"Yeah, me, too. How weird would that be if she were pregnant now?" he asked her.

"I don't even want to imagine," she said.

"The rendering is done," he told her then, remembering what he'd actually came to tell her.

"Good. I will try to organize us all something to eat afterwards," she stroked her fingers through his hair. "Did I already tell you that I really appreciate the haircut you got this morning?" she grinned then.

"I wasn't even aware you noticed," he replied and pulled her closer again.

"Of course I did. I also knew because I was looking for you this morning and when I couldn't find you your assistant told me you went to get a haircut," she laughed.

"I know you like it better when my hair is shorter," he laughed with her.

"Aw, only for me. Aren't you the sweetest guy?" she gushed exaggeratedly.

"Absolutely. Tell me more about it later when we're alone. Now we have to tell the others that Angela's rendering of the victim is done," he said.

"Ok, I'm just gonna call Michelle and tell her we're stuck here," she nodded.

"See you in a few, Dr. Saroyan," he winked at her and left the room, feeling loads better now that he had talked to her.

* * *

After seeing the recreation on screen and watching a recreational shooting of JFK that lead to an argument between Booth and Hodgins, Hodgins lead Sweets and Booth to the secret storage area of the Jeffersonian, while he distracted Mr. White who seemed suspicious. He was annoyed because the guy had refused to let them go and get something to eat and also because he would miss great Italian food with Michelle and Cam.

"Uh, Mr. White? Yeah, I've done all I can do, so I'm gonna leave the premises," he informed the guy when he saw Booth's silhouette in the janitors closet, indicating that they had the weapon they had been looking for down in the basement to re-create the shooting of JFK.

"I'm sorry. That's impossible," he replied while Hodgins took off his blue lab coat.

"Um... you can't stop me because I'm an American. So, I've got rights," he said and placed the coat on the table as he kept walking towards the exit.

"I'd rather not hurt you," Mr. White threatened.

"Hey, nice job with Bush and the whole flying shoe incident, by the way. I want to compliment you on that one," Hodgins couldn't help himself and the next thing he felt was a punch right into his left kidney from behind. The pain was horrible and he fell to the floor.

"Hey, you want to try me instead of some bigmouth scientist, huh?" Booth came around the corner before the guy could hurt him again. Mr. White didn't respond, he just stared at them and then turned around and walked away. "Yeah. I thought so," Booth commented and then helped Hodgins up. "Come on. That Bush comment? To him? You're lucky he didn't paralyze you for life," he said and Hodgins groaned with pain as he tried to stand straight. "Easy," Booth said and helped him into Cam's office.

"What happened?" she asked alarmed when she saw pain written all over Hodgins' face.

"Your big mouthed friend provoked Mr. White," Booth replied as Hodgins sat down on Cam's desk chair.

"Hey, I did it so you could get the gun," Hodgins tried to defend himself and still held his side.

"A little less drama would have worked just as well," the agent said and watched Cam as she looked so angry he thought she'd go out and attack the guy with her bare hands. "You better see if he damaged anything and then we'll try to come up with some plan on how to re-create the shooting, ok? I'll wait in your lab," he excused himself, because he knew that Hodgins would milk this to get as much sympathy and loving from Cam as he could.

"Can you stand up?" Cam asked Hodgins when Booth had left.

"Can I not?" he replied, not really eager on getting up.

"Ok, then lose the hoodie and the shirt, I need to see what's wrong," she instructed and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Are you mad at me?" he asked as he unzipped the hoodie and slowly took it off.

"You're damn right I am. Why did you need to provoke him? Couldn't you just make up something important that you needed to show him?" she asked.

"That didn't really cross my mind," he admitted.

"Damn it, Jack, I don't want anything to happen to you," she sighed and took the red jacket from him. "We both know who these guys are and what they do so don't mess with them," she added.

"Sorry," he replied meekly and tried to unbutton his shirt, but kept flinching when he moved his left arm.

"Let me," she said, stepped closer and unbuttoned his shirt.

"I always pictured me getting undressed in here a bit differently," he joked and made her smile.

"Not happening," she grinned and slipped the shirt from his shoulders and down his arms. She placed it on her desk as well. "Where did he hit you?" she asked him when he had only his jeans and his under-shirt on.

"Left kidney area," he replied.

"Turn around, please," she instructed and lifted his shirt when he was standing with his back towards her.

"It's turning blue-ish already here," she said and his breath hitched when she stroked softly with her cold fingertips over the spot. "Sorry," she apologized thinking she had hurt him.

"Nothing to be sorry for. If we were alone I'd say keep going," he chuckled. Cam only rolled her eyes and pulled his shirt back down.

"You need something for the pain?" she asked him.

"No, I think I'll be good in a few minutes. And once we get home I'll just rely on my personal nurse," he grinned.

"Then get dressed and back to work, Dr. Hodgins, so we can actually go home in the next ten years," she smiled back.

"You know what would help with the pain though?" he asked too innocently.

"I have the suspicion I actually do know," she laughed and let him pull her into a long, loving kiss.

* * *

After the successful experiment involving two cantaloupes and Brennan's scientific jibber jabber, they still weren't sure if they had JFK on their table or not. Booth argued it wasn't him, while Hodgins kept insisting. Mr. White kept threatening them that they'd all lose their jobs once he reported what had happened and finally told them that they had one hour to pack up the remains. It was Cam's last chance at revenge.

"Mr. White? For future reference, you might want to inform your bosses that we don't do half-truth here." she told him and didn't see Sweets proud nodding as the guy walked off. Meanwhile Hodgins had something else to deal with and sought out Angela in her office.

"Hey, uh, I'll have Brennan's analysis of the entry angles up in one second," she told him when she saw him.

"Ange...," he interrupted her.

"Yeah?" she asked and took a moment to look at him.

"You're gonna have this baby," he stated.

"I don't know that yet," she replied with a smile.

"Yeah, well, when you do... I've been thinking. You're gonna try to raise this kid on your own. Wendell is a very decent guy...," he started the speech.

"He's a great guy," Angela agreed.

"I know. But he's a struggling grad student, and you're gonna minimize his responsibilities for his own good," he went on.

"Geez. Regular Nostradamus there, huh, Hodgins? Predicting the future?" she grinned and tried to lighten the mood.

"Says the woman who consults a psychic," he said and followed her when she walked over to the desk. "My point is, I'm your guy," he said.

"What?" she stopped and turned around with a disbelieving smile on her face.

"I'm your guy. I love you and I want to help you in whatever way I can, " he said and she looked shocked and hopeful at the same time. "I talked to Cam earlier and we both agree that it's true what I said on Christmas. There's more than one kind of family. You were there for me when Cam lost our baby and now we're gonna be there for you and your baby, because we love you. I'm... we're here for you. And for the baby. In whatever way you need," he finished his speech. After Cam had looked after his injury he had used the opportunity and had talked to her about it and they had agreed that they should be there for Angela and play babysitter or be Uncle Jack and Aunty Cam whenever Angela needed it. Two more crazy family members wouldn't be a problem, considering the size of Cam's family. And if they had a kid of their own one day these two could be best friends. Well, that had been Hodgins idea while Cam had rolled her eyes at him and had pointed out that it was possible that the kids could hate each other. "Okay." he said when Angela didn't reply and just looked at him. He left the room again and missed the sad look in her eyes as she watched him leave.

* * *

After Booth's ninja skills had been tested and Hacker had tried to get his moment of fame by coming into the Institute ten seconds too late, they were finally all allowed to leave and agreed that they needed some breakfast first and then some sleep. It was six in the morning already and none of them had slept that night.

"You know, I was able to take those guys down because they were not working as a team. You want to know why? Because Sweets here was able to put a worm of doubt in Mr. White's brain," Booth said and patted Sweets shoulder in a manly way.

"Thank you, Booth, but I'm pretty sure that the whole thing was part of some kind of test," he replied.

"Who was being tested?" Cam asked as she broke off another bit of her muffin and ate it.

"It wasn't a test. It was the government trying to figure out if modern forensic analysis could solve the greatest mystery of all time," Hodgins said and ate another one of his grapes.

"Yeah, but the victim turned out not to be Kennedy," Angela pointed out.

"What if the only part of Kennedy that wasn't Kennedy was that floating arm bone?" Hodgins asked.

"Maybe I was being tested, you know, after my brain surgery," Booth wondered.

"Or me," Sweets asked.

"Come on, guys. If they were testing anybody, it's me. They think I'm a paranoid conspiracy theorist," Hodgins said.

"Or maybe they were testing me to see if I could run a lab in a professional manner," Cam threw in after sipping her coffee.

"Well, you do realize that all these tests? Everybody failed," Angela stated.

"Not me. I figured out the truth," Brennan disagreed and raised her hand. The others all just looked disapprovingly at her.

"There's a congressional committee suggesting that Kennedy be exhumed," Hodgins said then.

"You mean we were some sort of dry run?" Cam asked him and placed her left hand on his arm for a moment.

"And that's why we couldn't mark the bones," he replied.

"Except they weren't Kennedy's bones," she pointed out but looked down at her plate. All the others looked expectantly at Brennan.

"No. They weren't Kennedy's bones," she confirmed.

* * *

Later when they were leaving Cam insisted on paying for their food,because she wanted to try to catch Brennan alone. So Hodgins and Angela left first.

"So, can I get you a cab?" he asked her.

"I'm not pregnant. It was a false positive," she told him with a smile what Cam had told her earlier before they had been allowed to leave.

"Oh, well, that must be a big relief," he said and wasn't sure if he felt happy for her or sad for himself now that he would be neither a father nor an uncle in the foreseeable future.

"Yeah."

"Everything goes back to normal. How it was before," he smiled slightly.

"Yeah. Yeah, but, um, I-I wanna... I want to thank you for..." she stuttered, which was uncharacteristic for her and struck him as weird.

"Nah. Hey, forget it," he waved her off.

"I'll never forget it," she said and sounded choked up. He kept looking at her, wondering what was going on. Finally he offered her his arm with a smile and led her to the taxi stand on the other side when she took it.

* * *

"Were you aware that JFK had scarlet fever in childhood?" Cam asked Brennan when they left while Booth and Sweets were still inside paying with the money Cam had handed them.

"Hodgins informed me of that fact, yes," the anthropologist nodded.

"Scarlet fever can cause osteomyelitis," Cam pointed out, knowing that that would explain the loss of bone density that had lead Brennan to deny that it was JFK.

"It's very rare, Cam. It can happen in approximately one in a hundred cases. It's statistically unlikely that it was Kennedy," Brennan replied.

"You're a good person. I will never forget what you did for him," Cam told her when she realized that Brennan had really twisted the facts a bit so Booth could actually keep doing his job and believe in his country. She saw Hodgins and Angela on the other side of the street and walked up to them.

"Ready to go?" she asked him and slipped her hand into his from behind as he was still talking to Angela.

"With you, always, my love," he laughed and kissed her before he wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Angela, we can drive you home. We're going over to my place, so it's on the way anyway," Cam offered, knowing that Jack had most likely already asked her.

"I still have some things to take care of, but thank you," Angela denied.

"Then see you tomorrow," Cam smiled and Hodgins raised his hand in a silent wave as they walked down the street to the Institute to get their car.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow," Angela replied sadly and watched them walk away arm in arm, both laughing over something Hodgins had said. She saw his thumb stroking involuntarily back and forth over her hip as Cam replied something that made him kiss her forehead. Watching them Angela realized for the first time what she had lost back then when she had walked away from one Jack Hodgins, and she wished she could win him back. 

**TBC**


	14. Chapter 14

Includes scenes from episode 5x13

**Chapter 14: Engaged for god and annoyed by rhubarb  
**

"Jack, have you seen my black shawl?" Cam asked Hodgins early Sunday morning when she came into his living-room, dressed in a grey pencil skirt and a black top.

"No. Maybe it's still at your place?" he replied as he tied his shoes while sitting on the couch.

"I know I brought it over. I stuck it into the black... no, it didn't fit. It must still be in Michelle's backpack," she suddenly remembered.

"Where is Michelle?" Hodgins asked and looked up.

"I'm here," the teen yelled from the hallway and slid into the room on her sock clad feet. "And here's your shawl," she said to Cam and handed it to her.

"Thank you," Cam replied and wrapped the cloth around her shoulders.

"It's so great being back again. Really, how decadent is it to go swimming in your indoor pool first thing in the morning?" Michelle gushed.

"Since when do you exercise before twelve?" Cam asked her.

"Usually I don't, but this morning the pool was calling my name," the girl grinned.

"And do you think the house is calling your name as well?" Cam wanted to know.

"Huh?" Michelle didn't understand what she was getting at.

"Jack suggested that we move in here and I want to know your opinion about it," Cam enlightened her. She hadn't had an opportunity to ask her before because something else had always come up.

"Are you serious?" Michelle asked, her eyes wide and sparkling excitedly.

"Who knows when the pool will be calling your name next time," Hodgins laughed from the couch.

"That would be... I mean... where would I live?" she asked them then.

"We could either renovate one of the apartments over the garages for you or you can have the loft if you want to stay in the house with us," Hodgins told her.

"She _will_ stay in the house with us where I see when she's coming and going," Cam intervened before the two got carried away.

"With my own bathroom and walk in closet?" Michelle couldn't believe it. She knew about the loft in Jack's house because ever since she had found it she'd stayed there. Slowly she had moved her things from one of the guest rooms into the loft, but she had always been aware that she was just a guest in his house.

"Of course. We can renovate, but I'm not rebuilding whole parts of the house," Hodgins laughed.

"Oh my god! Oh my god!" Michelle bounced up and down clapping her hands before she ran over to Hodgins and hugged him.

"I think we can take that as a yes," Cam said dryly as she watched her daughter.

"You should take it as a YES!" Michelle said as she pulled back from Hodgins, pumped her fist in the air and did a happy dance over to Cam before she hugged her as well.

"I wasn't aware you hated my apartment that much," she grinned while she hugged her back.

"I don't, I love your apartment, but this house is just... you know," the teen shrugged.

"I get it," Cam said and gave her a squeeze.

"Ladies, sorry to interrupt but we have to leave if we want to be on time," Hodgins interrupted them and stood up. "You've got everything? Purse, shoes, jackets... whatever else it is you need," he went on as he ushered them out into the hallway.

"Yup," Michelle nodded as she put on her second shoe.

"You have some chewing gum?" Cam asked her.

"No," the teen shook her head.

"I do," Hodgins told her and handed her the package.

"You want me to keep it in my purse?" Cam asked him after she had taken one.

"Yes, before I lose it again," Hodgins nodded, locked the door behind him and followed them to the garage.

"I still have my aunt's clothes in my trunk, we should take my car," Cam said and handed him the key without asking him. He usually drove when they were out together and she didn't mind at all. That way she could talk to Michelle without having to worry about the traffic.

"Why do you have her clothes? I hope you didn't wear them," Michelle reacted as she got into the back of the car.

"She called me yesterday and asked me to get them for her from the dry cleaners," Cam explained and fastened her seatbelt.

"You realize that they're slowly sucking you back in? First New Years Eve, then the breakfast, now the clothes… what's next? They're gonna move in with us at Jack's place?" Michelle asked.

"I know. Today will be the last visit in a while. My dad alone is alright with me, but I can do without the crazy rest," Cam agreed with her.

"Me too. Especially because you turn into your sister once you've been around them for a while. Crazy," Hodgins said and wiggled his finger beside his sleeve and rolled his eyes in different directions, before he pulled out of his property and onto the street.

* * *

When they pulled up in front of the church they could already see Cam's family gathered in front of the building. There were even more people standing with them now than there had been around on Christmas.

"Don't tell me they're all related to you," Hodgins said when he saw them all.

"They are. Some of them however are so far away on the family tree that I couldn't even tell you how exactly we are related," she replied and took his hand in hers.

"Oh, Nyah is here as well," Michelle told them and pointed to a girl approximately her age, who was leaning against the church wall reading a book. "I'm going over."

"Ok, but please no suicidal tendencies afterwards this time," Cam warned her with a smile.

"Nah, I'll just think about the pool and the loft that will soon be mine," she pretended to laugh evilly and walked off.

"Nyah?" Hodgins raised his eyebrows when Michelle was gone and he and Cam slowed down their steps. They would reach the crazy relatives soon enough.

"My family is very creative when it comes to names," she nodded.

"Hit me with it," he requested.

"Ok, but just my nieces and nephews. I already have trouble remembering their names," Cam said and stopped him. "Going by parents and age we have Elizabeth and Andrew," she said and pointed to the two adults he knew were the kids of her half-brother.

"Met them at your dad's birthday, pretty normal names," he nodded.

"Mia's kids are Elodie, Zhane, and Aaron," she went on. "However, only Aaron is still giving in to the pressure of coming here every Sunday."

"That's the guy standing with your dad?" he asked.

"Yup. Brandon only has one son named Tony, but he's stationed in Iraq."

"Ouch," Hodgins replied.

"Yah, Brandon's wife Paula doesn't take it so well, which I can understand. I'd go crazy if Michelle did that," Cam admitted.

"We'll just lock her up in my basement if she ever gets an idea like that," he joked and made her laugh.

"Ok, I have to hurry, my dad is already waving us over. Next there are Tay, Tyron, Tanesha and Tallulah."

"Matt's kids. He sure likes Ts," Hodgins knew.

"And Phoenix, Nyah, Riley and the twins Devon and Diego are my cousin Caitlin's kids," she finished.

"You ever wanted as many kids?" he asked her when they slowly, very slowly started to walk over to her family.

"God no! My original dream was two kids, a golden retriever and a white picket fence," she laughed.

"When shall I get the construction workers to install a new fence?" he asked and made them both laugh.

"As long as you're not getting us a dog. We don't have time for one and Michelle is scared of dogs," Cam added when they reached her family. "Good morning," Cam greeted her family, still giggling.

"Good morning Cami," her father said as she pecked him on the cheek.

"What's so funny?" Felicia wanted to know after they had exchanged the fake kisses on the cheek.

"Nothing, just... us being crazy," Cam waved her off and greeted her great-aunt.

"Don't you think that skirt's a bit short?" Ann asked her after she had eyed her up.

"It's a knee length pencil skirt. I don't see anything wrong with that," Cam defended herself. "And Felicia's dress is so much shorter," she pointed out then.

"She still needs to attract a man," her great-aunt pointed out and made both Hodgins and Cam laugh while Felicia only huffed. "You however are an engaged woman now and you should dress accordingly," her aunt went on.

"Excuse me? I think you know something that I don't," Cam exclaimed and looked at Jack, who was standing beside her, one arm slung around her waist.

"Don't look at me, I didn't do anything," he defended himself.

"We're not engaged," Cam told them then, because by now nearly all of her relatives were staring at her.

"Yet," Michelle muttered from behind, but it was still loud enough. Cam only sighed and let her head drop on Hodgins' shoulder.

"Thanks," he said sarcastically to Michelle.

"Oh, did I say that out loud?" she asked innocently.

"You know, maybe I need the loft for something else. We could however put up a bed in the laundry room in the basement," he threatened her just as innocently.

"Haha," she only replied and then turned back around to her friend.

"I already told everyone you two are engaged. You can't enter church with a guy who's never gonna be your husband. How does that look for God?" her great-aunt went on.

"Don't you think that God already knows that we're not engaged and would probably be even angrier at me for lying?" Cam tried to reason with her, but her aunt just waved her hand, signaling her to shut up.

"We should go in, mass is going to start," Mr. Saroyan said when the bells began to ring.

"Saved by the bell, literally," Cam chuckled and looked at Jack.

"I thought you were Catholic?" Hodgins asked when they passed the entrance with the large _Methodist _sign.

"Who said anything about being Catholic?" Cam replied confused.

"Your dad when he grilled me the first time I met him. He asked if I was Catholic. Which I kind of am..."

"Oh that," Cam laughed quietly. "My dad just kind of believes that all Catholic guys are abstinent until they get married. That's why he asked."

"Guess we proved him wrong with the pregnancy thing," he replied quietly as they slid into the bench row behind her father and most of her family.

"He can concentrate on protecting Felicia's innocence now," Cam replied and they both tried not to laugh too loudly as the service started.

* * *

"Reverend Green," Cam greeted the old man after the mass.

"Camille, it's been a while," he smiled at her.

"Yes, I'm really busy," she excused herself.

"And this is Mr. Hodgins, I assume," he went on and Cam glanced disapprovingly at her father.

"You assume right," Hodgins nodded and shook his hand.

"I'm glad you joined us today and I hope you will join us regularly from now on," the old man pressured. Hodgins felt Cam tense beside him and knew that this was another ploy by her family to manipulate her into doing what they wanted. Cam and her father might have gotten closer, but that didn't mean that he had changed.

"I'm sorry, Reverend, but I doubt that. I liked the music here better than what I remember from mass in my church, but I am still a scientist first and foremost and no priest or reverend can convince me of anything. I only believe what I can see or prove," Hodgins reacted, knowing that he would lose points with Cam's dad again, but at least he would think twice next time before forcing them into something like this.

"God loves and is every human being," he replied.

"It's kind of hard to believe that when you have murder victims to analyze day in and day out, that were tortured and killed in ways you can't even imagine," Hodgins went in for the kill.

"I understand," the reverend replied, knowing that it was pointless arguing with Hodgins.

"And you agree with that?" her Aunt Sally asked Cam.

"I can't say I disagree entirely," Cam nodded.

"It would break your mother's heart to hear you talking like that," her aunt said and pressed her tissue to her mouth as if to suppress her sobs.

"Speaking of my mother," Cam ignored her aunt's comment and turned to Hodgins. "Do you mind if we stop by the cemetery before we leave?" she asked him.

"No, of course not," he shook his head. "But maybe we should get going then, if I'm not mistaken Michelle has an 'appointment' at two," he said after checking his watch, referring to her date with Perry.

"Alright, then let's roll," she nodded and waved Michelle over to them.

"We're leaving?" the teen asked.

"Yes, I want to stop by my mother's grave before we go," Cam nodded. They all said their goodbyes and then walked the short distance over to the cemetery.

"That comment concerning your mom... wow," Hodgins said when they were out of hearing distance.

"My mom and her sister didn't get along that well," Cam informed him. "And welcome to the Saroyan family," she grinned then and slung her arm tighter around his middle.

* * *

"They're gone again?" Hodgins asked that evening when he came back from the kitchen into the living room. Michelle and Perry had stopped by for dinner and then had left again.

"Yes, they finally left to go bowling," Cam nodded and turned her head away from the fireplace which she had been staring into.

"You look pensive," he observed, sat down beside her and pulled her into his arms.

"Mmmh," she only replied, resting her cheek against his shoulder. He enveloped her even tighter in his arms and placed a kiss on her hair. Her eyes wandered back to the flames while he buried his nose in her hair. He loved the scent of vanilla in her hair and pressed another kiss on it. "Have you talked to Angela again?" she asked him.

"About?" he wondered.

"How she's dealing now that she's not pregnant," Cam clarified.

"To me she seemed relieved. I mean, when she found out, she wasn't sure if she should keep it or not, so I think she's perfect now that she's not tied down or anything," he shrugged.

"Didn't you tell me that Angela always wanted kids?" she asked.

"She did, but she was talking about the wrong time and the wrong guy. I don't know... sometimes I don't understand her," he admitted with a smile.

"Maybe she only wanted kids with you?" Cam asked him and he wrinkled his forehead.

"She walked away from me back then. She was the one who pulled out the stop sign when I told her that we could try for kids right away and she was also the one who told me in no uncertain terms, that while she could fall in love with men, she didn't love me," he disagreed.

"Angela loved you, I'm sure of that," Cam shook her head.

"I can only tell you what she told me once she got together with Roxie."

"Wasn't it weird for you that she was with a woman after breaking up with you?" she wanted to know.

"It was. I still had hope that we would get together again and then she's with a woman? You can compete with your own gender, but with the opposite sex?" he said and she nodded. They both fell silent again and watched the flames dance in the fireplace.

"I have another Ob/gyn appointment tomorrow," she finally said after a while of silence.

"To find out about the ectopic pregnancy still or about birth control?" he asked her and pulled back so he could look at her.

"I don't think there's anything left to find out to be honest. Best guess is still the contraceptive coil and its misplacement a while ago. That seems to have left scars," she shrugged.

"So no way of knowing if it could happen again or not," he concluded.

"It could always happen again, but we don't know how likely it is," she corrected him.

"Ok," he replied and decided not to interrupt her again because obviously he had brought her off track with his questions and she was once again silent. Just when he thought the topic had died, she spoke again.

"I wanted to discuss with you if I should even bother going back on birth control," she broke the silence again.

"You know that I'm ok with whatever you decide," he said.

"I do, but I'm not sure you realize what an immense pressure that puts on me. I feel like I have to make the decision alone," she complained and he couldn't keep himself from smiling as he realized how openly they were suddenly talking.

"Ok, then tell me what's going through your head and I will tell you what I think," he nodded.

"I'm wondering... I could go on the pill again because honestly I think it's a bit early to try for a baby, and fumbling with condoms every time is not really romantic if we're honest. Also, I know it sounds weird, but for me it's more... personal and intimate if we're together without anything in between," she started and he only looked at her and nodded from time to time, but didn't say anything. "However once we decide to have a baby it could take months to have the chemicals out of my system. I'm 39 now. Let's say I'm 40 once we decide to try and then it might not happen, first because of the pill, then because of my age. It could take a while to get pregnant, we shouldn't forget about that," she rambled.

"So let's say we... stop being careful and nothing happens for a year, you're ok with that?" he asked her.

"I guess. It's not like we would desperately try to get pregnant with the right timing and temperature and whatnot. And once we really think the time is right we could seek help," she said and turned the one button of his flannel shirt back and forth between her index finger and thumb.

"But what if you get pregnant right away? Would you be ok with that? After all you were on the pill and you still got pregnant," he pointed out.

"I think by having unprotected sex we would both be aware that something could happen, me as well as you. So it wouldn't be a total shock this time, merely impractical and stressful," she thought out loud.

"Ok, let me rephrase: Would you rather have a baby right now than not at all?" he asked. "Because those are the two extremes it could come down to," he summed it up. Cam thought for a while, still twisting and turning the button while he stroked over her shoulder and patiently waited.

"I'd rather have a baby right now than not at all," she admitted once she had come to a conclusion.

"You're sure?" he asked her and looked straight into her eyes. "Once you're pregnant there's no going back."

"I'm sure, Jack. I'm so sick of letting my own fears and insecurities get in my way. And soon we'll be moving in together. I think we're crazy for doing this after being together for only ten months, but ever since we found out about the pregnancy and then lost the baby... it's like we jumped ten years of time," she replied.

"At first it brought us further apart and in the end a lot closer together. I don't think I've ever felt this close to anyone," he said.

"Me either," she smiled and kissed him softly. "So from now on, whenever inconvenient no raincoat in the storm?" she asked then, her smile widening as she raised her eyebrows.

"When is it ever convenient?" he laughed, pulled her against him and slowly lay down, bringing her down on the couch with him.

"I doubt it is right now," she laughed when he placed kisses on her throat.

"Absolutely. Too bad," he grinned back and sealed her mouth with his. His kiss was playful and tender at first, but soon his hands wandered under her shirt and down into her pants.

"But if you want me to I'd go upstairs and get one," he added for good measure, knowing that if she got pregnant and hormonal she would use the fact that he didn't ask against him.

"Shush... we have no time. Michelle's curfew is nine tonight," she reminded him and pulled his shirt over his head.

* * *

Two days later Cam was examining the human remains Booth and Brennan had brought in earlier that day. She held a flashlight in her hand and tried to see something that could be relevant while the victim was still encrusted in clay.

"Whoa!" Cam exclaimed and jumped back when suddenly hundreds of spiders came out of a crack in the clay.

"What... what happened?" Brennan asked but didn't move away from the body.

"Spiders. I don't like spiders, and...," Cam stuttered while pointing at the crack where they were emerging from.

"Oh," Mr. Vincent Nigel Murray just said but didn't seem more impressed than Brennan.

"...there are thousands of little spiders coming out of...," Cam tried to finish a sentence but wasn't really able to.

"I'll go get Hodgins," the intern said and ran off the platform. Cam couldn't even understand that he was saving her, because her eyes were fixed on the spiders.

"Uh... I really don't like spiders," she shuddered

"I don't mind them, actually." Brennan was a lot less helpful and continued her examination as Cam pressed herself against the banister of the platform and eyed the insects warily, making sure they wouldn't get too close to her.

"I hear a damsel in distress needs a knight in shining lab coat to save her," Hodgins chuckled when he came to the platform a few moments later, the intern in tow.

"Don't tease me right now Hodgins," Cam grumbled and shuddered when she saw a spider nearing her foot. Quickly she stepped to the side while Hodgins plugged in the vacuum machine he had brought.

"I'm gonna save you now and tease you later," he grinned and pecked her lips before he turned on the device.

"I'll be in my office while you clean the remains. Call me when you're done," Brennan excused herself, knowing she couldn't work while Hodgins was getting rid of the spiders.

"Ok, Dr. Brennan," Vincent nodded obediently.

"The spider eggs were on the body before it was encased in the clay. The heat in the lab caused the eggs to hatch, and when you shone your flashlight, they headed for the light," Hodgins explained to them while working.

"Based on mandibular dentition, the victim is late-20s, early-30s," Vincent kept working as well.

"Dr. Hodgins, I can...uh...still see one in his mouth," Cam pointed out and was so scared that she actually addressed him formally again, although they had stopped doing that at the lab a while ago.

"Yup," he nodded and vacuumed the victim's mouth. "These bad boys are Frontinella communis; they're non-poisonous," he tried to put Cam more at ease.

"Yeah, still with those gross spider faces and legs, though..." she disagreed.

"This spider's not found in the area where the body was discovered," he tried another strategy: Distracting her with case related facts. Cam listened but started scratching herself.

"Indicating that the victim was probably offed elsewhere," the intern concluded.

"Any idea how to...uh...remove the body from the sediment?" Cam wanted to know and kept scratching her arm, then her shoulder.

"Well, I mean, if we remove the moisture from the clay, then it should just fall away without affecting the bones, at all. I just need four dehumidifiers," Hodgins instructed. He looked up and found that Cam had stuck her hand down the front of her dress, scratching herself again. "You okay, there, Dr. Saroyan?" he grinned at her, using the formal addressing to tease her.

"Yeah, I'm just... itchy all over. I'm gonna go burn all of these clothes, and maybe my hair," she told him, which made him laugh, and then exited the platform and hurried to her office.

"Some male spiders are known to actually... to pluck their webs like a guitar, to attract the females," Vincent Nigel Murray started telling facts again.

"Someone should tell them it's drummers that get the girls," Hodgins joked and shut him up with that.

* * *

"I think our intern of the week is losing it," Cam told Hodgins as they sat in the diner for lunch.

"Was there a time he actually had the complete six-pack? For me he's always been short one beer," he replied and stole a fry off her plate.

"He asked me today how he can get praise from Brennan," she said and took one of his curly fries to get even with him.

"Praise from Brennan?" Hodgins snorted. "Not gonna happen," he concluded.

"He cleaned the victim's teeth as a sign of respect for the dentist, ignored the sternum, and wants praise. I told him to go for mild approval instead," she reported.

"Good advice," he nodded. "You think he'll take it?"

"I don't know. I'll see and talk to Brennan if necessary," she shrugged and slapped his hand lightly when he wanted to steal off her plate again.

"Hey," he complained and stole the fry anyway.

"You're complaining? You're stealing my food," she laughed.

"My reward for saving you from the evil little spiders today," he grinned.

"Spiders... urgh... ok, you can have it all," she replied with a shudder and pushed the plate over to him.

"Oh come on! They're not that bad," he laughed about her this time.

"They're disgusting," she said and started scratching her arm again.

"Stop scratching," Hodgins told her and placed a hand over hers. "Eat something instead," he advised.

"I'm really not hungry anymore now that you mentioned them," Cam shook her head.

"You want me to feed you?" he grinned and held some fries up in front of her mouth. She looked at the fries and then at him and made the mistake of looking into his amused blue eyes. She rolled her eyes at herself for being such a wimp and opened her mouth. She just couldn't resist those eyes.

"You already know what you want to eat tonight? We have to go grocery shopping if we're gonna stay at my place again," he changed the topic again.

"I think it was a mistake to tell Michelle about the loft. She'll never leave the room again," Cam replied. "As for the food... didn't you mention something recently about chicken soup?"

"Yeah, I said it's good if you're sick. None of us have a cold," he pointed out.

"Isn't it good anyway?" she shrugged unimpressed.

"I could teach you, so the next time Michelle or I am sick you can make it," he grinned.

"You think you'll be so sick you'll be willing to die?" she laughed.

"It's not that hard, I'll show you," he laughed with her.

"Alright... and we should get back," she said after checking her watch.

"Back to the itsy bitsy spiders," he teased her again as he pulled out his wallet to pay.

"I will hurt you if you don't stop," she threatened, but kissed him back when he leaned over the table and pressed his lips to hers.

* * *

"The damage to the sternum is not the cause of death," Mr. Nigel Murray informed Cam in the evening of the same Tuesday.

"So, the ex-boyfriend's off the hook," she said.

"At a velocity of 82 meters-per-second, a-a hunting arrow would not only pierce the sternum and the heart, but would sever the spinal column. I will point out, uh, however, that the angry ex-boyfriend might still have killed the victim, but either he didn't use a hunting bow or he-he made an amazing shot from the-the absolute, the limit of the bow's range, which-which would be...is...is very far. I sounded very much like Dr. Brennan then, did I not?" he asked her while she followed his ramblings with a wrinkled forehead and crossed arms.

"Up until the 'very far', yes," she said and leaned forward. "What did strike our victim in the chest?" she asked him then, pointing at the victim.

"It could easily have been postmortem. Probably as a result of being tipped into a creek..." he admitted.

"So, we don't have cause of death," she said disappointedly, because it would mean more research and work the next day.

"Rhubarb!" Vincent suddenly exclaimed, clapping his hands together.

"Uh...rhubarb...yeah...uh, the victim was killed by rhubarb...?" Cam tried to follow what he was talking about, but didn't stand a chance.

"Approximately ten kilos," he went on excitedly.

"All right, I'm usually pretty good with following your jumpy little brain, but you've totally left me in the dust on this one," she admitted defeat.

"If you can acquire for me the rhubarb, I can deliver unto you a skeleton free of clay. Rhubarb!" he said as if he was a cheerleader.

"Rhubarb, it is," she accepted it without knowing why he needed rhubarb. She hurried away, knowing she had only a few minutes left to order rhubarb to the Jeffersonian for the next day.

* * *

"The guy at the market wanted a confirmation faxed that the Jeffersonian Institute really needs ten kilos of rhubarb," Cam recounted when they sat at dinner that night. "I finally told him that we're all visiting a baking class together and we need it to make pie."

"Rhubarb isn't in season," Hodgins randomly said.

"I know, that's what he told me and offered me other fruits," she nodded.

"And then you told him what we need it for?" he asked.

"No, I told him that I just want to order ten kilos of rhubarb and not get a lesson in botany," she said, admitting that she had lost patience. "And I don't really understand why we need it so how could I explain?" she asked him.

"Silicates cause clay to adhere and rhubarb is full of oxalic acid which counteracts it ," Hodgins informed her.

"Ok... and how did he get there from a hunting arrow?" she asked but then shook her head. "Sorry, even if you do know, don't answer my question. His brain is such a muss of loose bedlam, that I don't want a glimpse into it," Cam admitted and made the other two laugh.

"I got my chemistry paper back today," Michelle saw her opportunity come to speak up before they would start going into disgusting details of the case again.

"And?" Hodgins asked and suddenly felt really nervous.

"I got a B+. The + is because I corrected that one thing you rambled about," she grinned.

"He messed it up again on the paper?" he asked her wide eyed.

"Yup," she nodded.

"Where did he get his degree as a chemistry teacher? Won it in the lottery? Everybody knows that the acid of..." he started his rant, but Cam interrupted him.

"Jack, please! Write the guy a letter or something, but don't tell us now. Michelle doesn't understand a word and Mr. Facts is enough to make my brain hurt already," she said.

"Is it possible that you're always kind of grumpy when he's around?" Jack laughed.

"I can deal with Fisher's weirdness, Arastoo's beliefs, and Wendell, but Daisy and Vincent are driving me nuts. One is always telling you stuff you never wanted to know and the other is just annoying," she confirmed his suspicion.

"Speaking of annoying: Felicia called today when I was over at our old place," Michelle said.

"It's still our current place, honey," Cam corrected her teasingly.

"Not my point. She kept babbling about something and I let it slip that we are over at _Hodgins' place _most of the time now," she admitted.

"Did you tell her that we're moving in?" Cam asked panicked.

"No, I didn't but she reacted really strange and said 'That's good to know'," Michelle replied.

"She doesn't have the address so we're not in danger," Cam said without worry.

"She kind of has it," Hodgins admitted hesitatingly.

"Kind of?" Cam raised her eyebrows.

"I talked to your dad when they came over for breakfast and I told him where I live. If they put two and two together or ask Ann they do know," he told her and looked like he was in pain.

"You know that this means they'll come over, don't you?" she asked him challengingly.

"Now that you point it out," he replied meekly.

"Can't leave you alone for a second," she sighed.

"You're so busted," Michelle giggled.

"You're one to talk, Miss Chatty," Cam shut her up and shook her head at the two innocent souls who still had so much to learn about her family.

* * *

"How did you work this up without me?" Hodgins asked Vincent Nigel Murray the next day, as he helped him put the remains into the water tank. He had been wondering ever since Cam had told him what the intern had come up with.

"When I told Dr. Saroyan that the sternum wound was not caused by a hunting arrow, my brain jumped to different types of arrows, which led me to the image of a giant wasp, which was silly, but which then led me to stinging nettles, which are covered in thousands of tiny little arrows, and on the tip of each tiny little arrow is a drop of oxalic acid, which not only stings, but works very well at dissolving silicates," he reported as they placed the skeleton in the water.

"Silicate causes clay to adhere..." Hodgins started.

"...and rhubarb is full of oxalic acid," the intern finished.

"Okay. Next time someone says your brain is a jumble of disconnected chaos, you just send them to me," Hodgins laughed, remembering Cam's words, but changing them slightly so they wouldn't be as offensive.

"I wi-..." the intern chuckled, but then stopped. "People say that?" he asked when he realized what Hodgins had just said.

"You need me to stir?" he tried to distract him and searched for something to stir with.

"Don't you have lots of spiders to trace?" Vincent asked him.

"Well, there's over 30 separate breeding grounds within a 200-mile radius of the body site. I'm analyzing the egg sacks to see if I can narrow it down further, but... I've got some time. And this is so cool," Hodgins gushed when he held a large spoon and stirred the rhubarb- skeleton-clay sauce.

* * *

"You really should talk to Brennan," Hodgins told Cam when he sought her out in her office late in the afternoon, to give her the newest updated report.

"About?" she asked him.

"About some praise for our poor intern. The guy is taking blame for stuff he has nothing to do with," he went on and sat down on the edge of her desk.

"Something that could never happen to you," she grinned knowingly.

"Nah, I told him to toss culpability onto you and then showed him how it's done by blaming his rhubarb stew for washing away my particulates," he grinned back.

"Oh really? What did I miss?" she wanted to know.

"That the injury on the medial malleolus means that whatever caused it, cut the posterior tibial artery," Hodgins repeated what Brennan had said earlier.

"Oh shit, he bled to death?" Cam cursed, annoyed that she had missed it.

"He did. Something wrong? Usually you're really thorough and concentrated when it comes to stuff like that," he wondered.

"Every time I see those remains I see spiders coming out of them. So I might not have got close enough..." she admitted and made him laugh.

"I'll remind you of this the next time you say I'm crazy," he said and quickly kissed her.

"You think it's wise to tell Brennan to give him some praise? He might get a big head once he gets what he wants," she wondered.

"One more crackpot in here more or less..." he laughed.

"You're the one always pointing out he's king of the lab," Cam pulled his leg and they both laughed.

"God, I missed you while we were on our 'break'," he admitted, staring at her in wonder while she still smiled at him.

"I missed you, too," she replied and stroked her hand over his stubbly cheek. "And now I'll go over to Brennan to get my lecture," she went on and kissed him softly before she got up.

"Good luck with that," he laughed and followed her out of her office.

* * *

"You can't blame Mr. Nigel-Murray; the nick was on the bone, but I should've realized the implications for the flesh, and I didn't," Cam told Brennan when she marched into her office and found her sitting at her desk.

"I agree," she said unfazed as usual.

"Then why are you letting him worry that he's disappointing you?" Cam asked her.

"Mr. Nigel-Murray should be aware by now that I don't hold others to my level of expertise. Otherwise I'd have no one to help me," Brennan shrugged.

"How would he know that if you don't tell him?" the pathologist wanted to know.

"Tungsten carbide, which is a compound used to coat various types of tools," Hodgins interrupted them and marched in with the intern following him. He had found the test results when he had come back to his lab and had decided to show them immediately.

"Including dental tools," Vincent added. Brennan looked at Cam questioningly, who nodded encouragingly in her direction.

"I distinctly remember saying to you once, 'Good job, Mr. Nigel-Murray.' I'm saying it again now," she told him then.

"Cheers. Brilliant, that…" Mr. Nigel Murray grinned overjoyed and Cam and Hodgins exchanged an amused look at his obvious joy.

"One of the suspects was Dan's dental hygienist...," Brennan ignored it though.

"Grace Bryson," Cam provided.

"Mm-hmm," Brennan agreed.

"Hey, where does she live?" Hodgins wanted to know.

"Fairfax, Virginia," the anthropologist let him know.

"Okay, the pollen I found in the sheet weaver spider's egg sack came from hickory pine trees. They don't grow where the body was found, but you can find them all over that part of Virginia," he let them know.

"Motive, theoretical weapon, spiders... That should be enough for an arrest," Cam nodded and couldn't help bringing up the spiders again. Lucky for her neither Brennan nor Hodgins realized that though, both too caught up in their own science.

* * *

Late in the evening Cam had analyzed the blood Booth and Brennan had found on the stones. She was just about to call the anthropologist when Brennan entered her lab.

"The bottom of the paving stones are covered in blood. All the samples I've taken are a match for the victim," Cam let her know.

"He bled out on the ground, then it was paved over," Brennan summed it up.

"Behold, Lucas Pickford's grout scraper. He used it for installing the paving stones," Vincent said as he came in followed by Hodgins. Hodgins looked at Cam and smiled when he saw that the button on her blouse he had opened earlier when he had caught her alone on the mezzanine was still unbuttoned.

"Coated in tungsten carbide," he didn't miss his call for information though.

"Please tell me it's a match," Cam begged, because all she wanted to do was go home.

"I-It is, in fact, a perfect match for the injury to the victim's ankle," the intern said and Hodgins looked at Cam in an 'Oh boy' kind of way while Brennan only listened. "Yeah? Cheers. Brilliant," the British guy then said.

"Hmm? No, she didn't say anything," Hodgins pointed out, knowing that Brennan hadn't praised him again.

"I-I discerned a lovely...a little glint of approbation in her eye," the intern insisted and then left. Cam wrinkled her forehead and exchanged a look with Hodgins that didn't need any words added, then he left as well.

* * *

"Cam, we've got a problem here," Hodgins said slightly panicked when Cam picked up her cell phone .

"What's going on, Jack?" she asked, wondering what he wanted. She'd gone to pick up some things from her apartment and then buy some groceries, while Jack was at home starting dinner. They had said goodbye maybe an hour ago and she was on her way to the supermarket.

"Your brother Matt is here with his 'nice' wife and his 'darling' little kids. They're still outside the main gate and waiting for me to open it," he reported.

"Don't let him in!" she said immediately. "Why does he know where you live?" Cam wanted to know.

"He said that Felicia had mentioned something, but because he's clever he found us. He says he wants to visit his little sister and when I told him you're not here he said he'd wait for you," Hodgins sounded even more agitated.

"Don't let him in! I'm on my way back," she instructed. "Or maybe I won't be back, cause I might go and kill Felicia."

"Wait for me, I'll help you kill her!" Cam heard Michelle's voice and realized she must be standing next to Hodgins while they had the phone on speaker.

"What? I can't just let him stand out there," he shrieked though.

"Don't let him in," she emphasized again.

"But... Cam!" he exclaimed panicked.

"I'll be right there, ten minutes tops," she replied and then hung up, hoping he would take her advice and let them stay outside. Knowing Hodgins however, she'd already guessed that he would let them in and open the door to hell.

**TBC**


	15. Chapter 15

Thanks again to Gianna!

* * *

**Chapter 15: Hell, devils and terrorists**

"Jack? Michelle?" Cam asked as she hurried into the house. The entry way was dark which was odd, but even in the kitchen and the living room all the lights were turned off. "Michelle?" she called again when she heard something from upstairs.

"Turn off the lights," Michelle stage whispered as she came down the stairs holding a flashlight.

"Why? What's going on?" Cam asked her confused. "And where's Hodgins?"

"He's in the apartment above the garage waiting for you. We switched off all the lights in here so we can pretend that we're living above the garage," Michelle explained.

"You don't honestly believe that Matt's gonna buy it?" Cam barked out a laugh and shook her head.

"It's the only thing we could come up with," Michelle tried to defend their idea. "You weren't here," she added for good measure to make Cam feel guilty.

"I told you two not to let him in, you should have tried that," Cam refused to take the blame for the situation. "You're coming with me or are you going to continue hiding out here?" she asked Michelle then, when she grabbed the keys and walked to the front door.

"I'm not hiding... I simply like keeping to myself," Michelle countered and walked back up the stairs.

"Unbelievable..." Cam muttered as she hurried to the garage. It was a good ten minute walk and midway she realized that it might have been wiser to drive up to the garage. She was out of breath when she reached it and her feet hurt, due to the fact that hurrying through a park like area in high heels wasn't the best idea. She took the stairs two at a time and then rang the doorbell. The voices she could hear outside while she waited were loud but it didn't sound as if they were arguing which was a good sign.

"There you are," Hodgins breathed out in relief when he saw her. Cam wrinkled her forehead for a moment when she saw that her youngest niece Tallulah was on Hodgins arm and had her arms wrapped around his neck and her head lay on his shoulder.

"What did I tell you?" she asked him then and the confusion gave away to a lecturing expression.

"I know, I know," he replied and then leaned over to her to greet her with a kiss.

"And you, Lullah? You're trying to steal away my man?" Cam asked the four year old.

"He's gonna marry me," the girl replied and tightened her hold on him. The little girl had been intrigued by Jack when she had met him the first time at Christmas and had watched him from afar the whole time. It seemed that now that she had the opportunity she had used it.

"She's totally in love with your man," Cam's sister in law laughed when she stepped inside. She closed the door behind her and looked at her brother expectantly.

"What? Aren't ya happy to see us?" he asked innocently and hugged her briefly.

"Matt..." she just sighed and looked down when someone tugged on her skirt.

"Hi, Aunt Cami," Tanesha smiled up at her, showing off her missing tooth.

"You told her to do that, didn't you?" Cam asked her brother but then crouched down in front of the little girl.

"Hi sweetie," she smiled at her. "Is this the first tooth you lost?" she asked.

"No, my second," the kid shook her head.

"Your second, really?" Cam nodded. "And did you keep them?"

"No, I stuck 'em under the pillow for the tooth fairy," Tanesha reported.

"And what did the tooth fairy give you?" Cam asked her curiously.

"Nothin' yet. She just took my tooth and left daddy a note sayin' she'd bring something soon," the sad reply came and Cam shot her brother another disapproving look, but he just shrugged.

"Nice place you have here," Cam's sister in law spoke up, embarrassed by their financial problems and the fact that they couldn't even buy a present for their daughter.

"This is the guest apartment," Cam replied truthfully and Hodgins gave her a surprised look. "The main house is down the driveway."

"Cool, can we see it? Does it have a pool? I bet there's a pool!" nine year old Tay exclaimed excitedly.

"Yes, there's a pool but it's a bit too cold to go swimming," Cam told him and stood back up. She looked at Jack again, unsure how to proceed. It was her family but his house, so she couldn't just invite them in. Then again she had never invited them in at her place, afraid of the damages they might leave behind.

"I can offer you some hot chocolate with marshmallows if you want," he said and smiled at Cam.

"But only if you keep your hands off everything and don't run around," Cam added immediately. "Same goes for you two," she told her brother and his wife, making the kids laugh. She wasn't joking though.

"Ok, then let's go over, now that Aunt Cami is here," Hodgins laughed and tried to put Tallulah down.

"No, carry me Uncle Hodgins," the four year old begged and he couldn't resist her charm and readjusted her in his arms. Cam meanwhile opened the door and ushered them outside. When her brother wanted to go last she held him back by his sleeve.

"Matt, if there's a break in here from now on, I know where to find you," Cam told her brother threateningly.

"Hey, Cami, our dad was a cop, man," he exclaimed and held his hands up, faking innocence.

"I know, but still, you have trouble differentiating between yours and the property of others." She didn't buy it.

"What? You're gonna check my pockets before I leave?" he asked her.

"No... not that I'm not tempted, but I warned you," she raised her eyebrows and his innocent expression slipped for a second and he looked scared. Then he grinned widely and slung one arm around her shoulders. "Hey, little sister, you know your big bro' would never screw you over," he laughed and lead Cam back to the family. She knew she had won this round at least.

"Then let's go over to the main house, big brother, it's freezing up here," she said and stepped out of his embrace. She quickly caught up to Hodgins, who led the way and was listening to Tallulah's stories. She wrapped one arm around his middle and tickled the little girl's leg.

"Hey! Take your hands off ma man!" came the lecture from her niece when she noticed that Cam had her arm around Hodgins.

"You know, I kind of like it when she touches me," Hodgins whispered to her, but loud enough for Cam to hear.

"But you only carry me 'round," the girl requested sternly.

"Of course, princess," he laughed and readjusted her so she sat on his hip and then pulled Cam closer with his now free hand. She only smiled at him, placed a kiss on his cheek, and tried to get closer to him than she already was.

* * *

"Hot chocolate coming up," Hodgins grinned as he served the four kids who were sitting on the stools in the kitchen. Cam was unloading the dishwasher while he cooked and the two other adults in the room were still speechless because of the house.

"Cami, this is a palace! Marry him!" her brother had said when he had caught up to her as they walked into the kitchen.

"You want to marry me off for money?" she had replied and Matt hadn't been able to find a comeback.

"Aunt Cami, do you have princess cups?" Tallulah asked.

"What are princess cups?" Cam replied, because she really had no idea what the girl was talking about.

"A cup with Ariel and Jasmine on it. It's pink and I only drink from my princess cup at home," the girl informed her.

"No, we don't have those. But isn't it enough that your future husband owns these cups?" Cam grinned and squealed when Hodgins pulled slightly on her pony tail.

"Stop teasing the girl," he told her laughingly when she turned around. He pulled her closer by her waist and pecked her lips. "No need to be jealous. There's only one woman in this room who I'm gonna marry one day," he added quietly and kissed her again before he let her go. He took the mugs and filled them with cocoa then added marshmallows. He put all four cups on a tray and carried it over to the table where the kids were sitting.

"I know you're already cheating on me," Tallulah complained with a serious expression when he handed her her mug. He looked at the girl dumbfounded, then burst out in laughter.

"I think it's more tragic that a four year old already knows what cheating is," Cam whispered in his ear when she came up behind him and put two glasses and a bottle of coke on the table for her brother and his wife.

"True," he nodded. "How can I make it up to you, my love?" he asked the child.

"Ask for the flat screen TV, Lullah," her brother Tyron advised.

"You have to kiss me," she said instead and with a smile Hodgins placed a kiss on her cheek.

"Forgiven?" he asked.

"Yes, but only this one time," she nodded, holding up one finger and then turned her attention to her cocoa.

"You look very business-like, Cami," Kendra complimented her wardrobe and broke the silence.

"We finished another case tonight and then I had to get some things from my apartment so I haven't had time to change," she replied and remembered that she should maybe take off her heels. She went into the hallway and kicked off her shoes before she came back into the kitchen.

"Isn't it a bit cold?" her brother asked when she walked barefoot into the kitchen.

"Floor heating," Cam grinned and wiggled her toes, then sat down next to Jack on the kitchen counter.

"Matt, it's getting late, we should leave," Kendra said when her kids had finished their beverages.

"But I don't wanna leave," Tanesha whined.

"Me either," Tallulah agreed with her sister. "I wanna stay with Uncle Hodgins."

"Nesha, Lullah, get up, we're going," Matt said authoritatively.

"Daddy, I wanna stay here," the four year old protested again.

"Me, too," her sister sniffed. Cam and Jack looked at each other, having a whole conversation with just their eyes. Finally they both smiled and slid off the kitchen counter.

"Matt, if you want you can leave the girls here tonight. We don't have to work tomorrow and can drop them off in the afternoon," Hodgins finally said and Cam nodded when her brother looked skeptically at her.

"You're sure? They can be a handful," his wife asked.

"If they want to go home early or give us any trouble we'll just drop them off at Dad's place," Cam assured them. "That's where you're staying, right?"

"Yes, we are. Little trip for the weekend," he confirmed. "You really want to stay here?" Matt asked his daughters again.

"Yes," they both nodded.

"We don't even have PJs for them or their toothbrushes," Kendra was still skeptical.

"I have toothbrushes here and I'm sure we can figure something out for the PJs," Hodgins replied.

"Ok, then we'll get going. Call if you want us to pick them up again... in an hour or so," Cam's brother joked.

"Bye you two," Cam waved at her nephews when they said their goodbyes and then closed the door.

"Dude, what did we just agree to?" Hodgins laughed when they were alone in the hallway.

"I have no idea, but we must be crazy. Two at the same time and they barely know us?" Cam laughed with him and let him envelop her in his arms.

"But they're cute," he said against her hair.

"Only question is for how long," Cam replied and looked up.

"We're a good team, we'll make it," he told her, cupped her cheek and guided her face to his. They both closed their eyes when their lips met. His tongue gliding against her lips ended the moment of soft pecks and soon they were passionately kissing in the hallway.

"We shouldn't leave the kids alone for too long," Cam smiled at him when she pulled back.

"We'll make up for it once they're gone again," he decided and kissed her again before he let her go.

* * *

"Uncle Hodgins, smell my arm! Aunt Cami let me use her body lotion," Tanesha yelled excitedly when she ran into the living-room after their bath time. Cam had put both girls in the bathtub and had spoiled them with lavender scented bubble bath, all kinds of products for their hair, clear nail polish, and her own body lotion. She'd soon regretted it after realizing the two girls had used nearly all of her $58 lotion that she had just bought a week before.

The lack of pajamas had been solved by giving the girls a couple of her own t-shirts that looked like long nightgowns on the two of them.

"Wow, you smell great now," Hodgins complimented obediently.

"Aunt Cami says it's bedtime now. Can't we stay up longer and watch Mickey again?" Tallulah gave him her best puppy eyes as she trailed in holding Cam's hand.

"You watched the DVD two times already. Besides, Cam is right: It's late and you should go to bed. We will as well," he said to support Cam, but also because he couldn't stand watching the only Mickey Mouse DVD he owned one more time.

"But Michelle is still out. I'll go to bed when she goes to bed," Tanesha protested.

"No way, Missy. Michelle is older than you are. Bedtime, now," Cam shook her head and changed the tone of her voice from the playful undertone to something more serious.

"You're mean. I don't like you anymore. Only Uncle Hodgins," Tallulah jumped onto the pouting train of her sister.

"I can live with that, sweetie. Bed. Now!" she said sternly.

"Carry me!" the youngest girl went to Hodgins again.

"Alright," he nodded and wondered if he should make her apologize to Cam. He decided against it because they weren't their parents and only had them for one night. There was no point in trying to discipline them or set up new rules.

"You want to sleep in one big bed or in two smaller ones in separate rooms?" Cam asked them once they were all upstairs.

"One bed," Tallulah decided and sounded scared suddenly.

"Where do you sleep?" her sister asked in the same voice.

"We're right here if you need anything, ok?" Cam showed them their bedroom.

"Ok," they nodded. Jack put Tallulah down on the bed after Cam had pulled back the comforter. Tanesha got in as well and they tucked them in.

"Sleep well, you two," Cam grinned and placed a kiss on each of their foreheads.

"Sweet dreams," Hodgins smiled and switched off the light when he stood up from the bed.

"Leave the door open," Tanesha requested when Cam wanted to close it so she left it ajar.

"You think they're gonna stay in there and sleep?" Jack asked as they made their way to their bedroom.

"I doubt it," she grinned and closed the door behind her.

"I still have to clean up the bathroom. They totally flooded it," Cam sighed as he grabbed his clothes for the night and walked to their bathroom door.

"We'll just put some towels on the floor and clean the rest tomorrow," he shrugged and pulled one of the large beach towels out of the closet in the bathroom.

"Thanks," she smiled tiredly and threw another one on the floor and spread it out so they wouldn't step in the puddles.

"I like them, they're cute," he said as he stepped out of his jeans.

"But?" she grinned.

"Why do you think there's a but?" he asked her and looked at her as she took her blouse off.

"I know you. There's a but," she said knowingly and slipped the black top over her head.

"Ok," he laughed. "I think it's odd that they are so clingy. I mean, they barely know us, me especially and still they're sitting on my lap, requesting kisses and hugging me, and letting me carry them around," he voiced his thoughts.

"Does that make you uncomfortable?" she wondered.

"Uncomfortable is too strong, but it's weird," he clarified.

"I think this is their chance to get some attention. At home there are four kids, both my brother and his wife work all day and even with their grandparents there's always a kid younger or just better at something," Cam tried to find an explanation.

"These two are clever, I hope your brother realizes how lucky he is," he added and then started brushing his teeth.

"Believe me, he doesn't. I'm scared to think what will become of them. They live in the same area I grew up in, but it's even worse there today. You either get away as soon as possible or you get sucked in. That's what happened to Matt. He's been to jail twice, once for breaking and entering, the second time for armed robbery. If it hadn't been for Dad he would still be in," Cam said honestly and threw the pad into the trash with which she had taken off her make-up.

"Maybe I should help them, get them into one of my apartments across town. I could call my real estate agents tomorrow," Hodgins offered.

"You can not help them," she shook her head.

"But maybe if I…" he started, but she interrupted him and placed a hand on his cheek while she looked him in the eyes.

"You can not help them. They take what they can get, but my brother doesn't change. My father bought him furniture when they moved and Matt sold it, then got some second hand stuff. The extra cash he used to buy dope. I gave them $30,000 a few years back, all my savings back then, because he had borrowed money from the wrong people. He paid his dues, then came to me nearly every day to ask me for more money for groceries, the rent, clothes for the kids… Once I talked to Felicia she told me that the kids never saw a cent of that money. All Matt bought from it was beer, cigarettes, and more dope for him and Kendra. I really appreciate your offer and it kills me to watch these kids grow up the way they do, but you cannot help them," she explained and kissed him softly once she was done.

"Poor girls," he sighed. "I didn't think Kendra was that careless as well," he admitted.

"She smoked through all four pregnancies, even hash. Tanesha was born via c-section more than three months early, because the placenta wasn't nurturing her anymore." Cam said and then brushed her teeth as well. Hodgins meanwhile picked up the wet towels from the floor and placed them over the edge of the bathtub.

"You want to watch some TV or go to sleep?" Cam asked him once they both lay in bed.

"Mmmh… either," he grinned and rolled over onto her.

"Oh really," she laughed and slung her arms around his neck. "With the kids in the house?"

"We won't be abstinent once we have our own munchkins," he replied and lowered his head to nibble on her neck.

"Plural? We're lucky if we get one considering my age," she protested weakly and tilted her head to the right side to give him better access.

"Stop that age crap," he whispered in her ear and softly bit her earlobe before he looked up at her. "Maybe I should get you pregnant as often as possible just to prove to you how young you still are," he told her as if he was considering it and cocked his head to the side.

"One time will be enough… a year from now or so," she laughed and pulled his head down by placing one hand on the back of his head. She kissed him lingeringly and grinned when she felt the effect she had on him, his full weight resting on her. "We could always practice though," she grinned.

"Oh yeah, practice makes perfect," he grinned back and kissed her again. Her hands snaked under his shirt and up his back while they let their tongues dance together. He pulled away from her lips after a while and kissed down her throat as his hands pushed up her top. He kneeled over her as he placed the first kiss on the exposed skin underneath her navel and then let his lips, tongue and teeth wander upwards to her chest as slowly as he could, while he kissed, licked and nibbled on her skin.

"You're so good at that," she purred as he kept showering her with kisses and caresses. Her fingers tangled in his hair as she enjoyed the sensations he caused.

"I think we're both very good _at that_, that's why it's so fun," he mumbled against her skin and followed her lead when she guided him back up and sealed his lips with hers.

"We're scared," a shy voice reached them after the door had slammed open, crashed into the wall, and made them both jump.

"Holy shit," Hodgins exclaimed in surprise and rolled off of Cam while she tried to cover herself by pulling her shirt back down. They looked sheepishly at each other and took a deep breath before they turned to look at the two girls who had walked in on them, but didn't even realize. "I can't get up yet," Hodgins whispered to Cam and made her chuckle quietly.

"What's wrong you two? What are you scared of?" she asked the girls and sat up in bed.

"There are strange noises in our room," Tallulah replied and walked further into their bedroom.

"Can we sleep in your bed?" Tanesha added pleadingly. Cam looked to Hodgins who had a resigned look on his face, but shrugged.

"Sure, hop in," Cam nodded finally and held up the covers in the middle of the bed. The girls didn't waste any time and jumped on the bed immediately.

"Uhm, I'm gonna be right back. Forgot to take a shower," Hodgins excused himself and got out of bed quickly. "A cold one," he added and made Cam laugh again.

"You're comfy?" she asked the girls, still grinning.

"Mmmh," Tanesha made and when Cam leaned over to look at them she found them both already half asleep. She waited for a moment, heard as Hodgins switched on the shower in the bathroom and checked on the girls again. They were asleep. Then she got out of bed and followed him into the bathroom.

* * *

Two days later they were back at work and even Cam couldn't say that she had seen something like it before.

"I've been a coroner a long time. I've seen a lot of bad things…" she started telling Brennan, who interrupted her.

"Define bad things."

"Murder, mayhem, catastrophe, suicide, explosions, you know, the usual stuff," Cam explained. "But this? This gave me a chill," she admitted.

"Because of the demonic symbolism of the horns?" the anthropologist asked.

"Look, I just don't want to end up hovering above my bed with my head spinning around 360 degrees," Cam said as they reached the platform.

"That would not only be impossible, but fatal," Brennan missed the point of her statement again as well as the reference to The Exorcist.

"Right," she only replied, not bothering to explain.

"Preliminary findings, Mr. Vaziri?" Brennan turned to her intern.

"The victim is human, mostly," he replied.

"Oh, he's only half joking. This extension of cartilage here?" Cam said and pointed to the body.

"Oh, a tail! The victim had a tail?" the anthropologist asked.

"Unmistakably devilish," Arastoo provided.

"Believing in fallen angels and living by the tenets of empirical science are mutually exclusive," he got his lecture right away from his boss.

"Islam teaches that Shaitan was not a fallen angel but a Jinn. Angels are created from light and have no free will. Jinns are made from smokeless fire and use their free will to defy Allah," he explained to them, also missing the point.

"Not an angel, not a Jinn, and yet; not your run-of-the-mill man, either," Cam summed it up for them.

"The victim is Caucasian, and judging by the partially fused epiphyseal union on the clavicle, 19 to 24 years of age," the intern found his way back to work just as Hodgins entered the platform.

"The accelerant was common motor oil. Available at any gas station," he said.

"Well at least it wasn't brimstone, available only from Hell," Cam grinned and made Hodgins smile as well. Brennan didn't think it was funny though.

"I can't get much off of what's left of his clothes, it's just a generic mixture of cotton and man-made fibers," Hodgins went on and sobered.

"What do you make of the horns, Mr. Vaziri?" Brennan turned to her intern again.

"Whoa, hey! Horns fall under my area," Hodgins protested and this time Cam was the only one smiling.

"Only if they aren't made of bone," she told him just to tease him.

"But they are made of bone," Arastoo told them.

"Really? Huh. Well I took a sample of your horns and ran it through the mass spec. In addition to calcium potassium, manganese and silica...," Hodgins provoked the intern, obviously feeling threatened in his expertise.

"Bone, as Mr. Vaziri stated," Brennan nodded.

"I also found calcium carbonate in the crystal for aragonite, which is better known as coral," Hodgins said proudly.

"Likely the horns were cosmetic implants, but as a result of biocompatibility the remodeled bone grew within the coral," Brennan concluded.

"What about the tail, do you think it's a cosmetic implant as well?" Cam asked her.

"Vestigial. It's a vestigial tail," the anthropologist said.

"Well, that's extremely rare for a child to be born with one," the pathologist replied.

"There is a man in west Bengal with a 33 centimeter long tail, who some believe is the reincarnation of Hanuman," Brennan was the one with the facts that day. However just then Angela entered.

"Hey, I got an ID on our victim," she said and walked over to the computer on the platform.

"Is his last name Lucifer?" Cam asked.

"Can we please call him Hell Boy until we find out otherwise?" Hodgins went along with Cam's joking.

"Well, we've found out otherwise. Neal Lowery. Turns out Neal's the only missing guy with horns. Go figure," Angela spoiled their fun.

"Where was his last known residence?" Brennan asked.

"I'm guessing Mr. Stephen King's basement," Arastoo obviously had the same sense of humor as Hodgins and Cam.

"Havenhurst Sanitarium, where he's being treated for schizophrenia," Angela once again had the facts and ruined their fantasies.

* * *

Hours later Cam finally had the victim on her autopsy table. Brennan had sent her intern to help her and to catalogue the injuries visible on the bones.

"This section of the peritoneal lining is both thickened and enflamed, which indicated the intestines might have ruptured," Cam explained to him.

"Cause of death?" he wanted to know.

"Hard to tell from sample size. Did you find any fractured bones in the X-rays that might have perforated the intestines?" she asked him.

"I don't think so, Dr Saroyan," he replied and carefully pulled off the victim's boots.

"Woo! I know that smell," she said and scrunched up her face. "Yup. Gangrene. I've seen this before, in junkies. They inject between the toes, gets infected," she said with the coolness that came with years of experience. She couldn't even count anymore how many dead junkies she had autopsied.

"As you can see there's a fracture on the anterior aspect of the right T5," Arastoo showed her on the monitor.

"There's no way that ruptured the intestines," she shook her head.

"I finished my analysis of the contents of the boot treads. Within the treads, I found peat moss, sand, and perlite; also known as potting soil, as well as seeds from a plant commonly known as Christmas roses," Hodgins said when he walked in, again not bothering to make his presence known before or knock. Cam shot him a disapproving look when he startled her, but knew at the same time, that he wouldn't really care.

"Christmas roses, that doesn't sound very satanic," she tried to be hopeful.

"Yeah, from the genus hellebore. Sorry," he told her. "Even more interesting though, is the legend that hellebore is the key ingredient in a potion meant to summon the Devil," he went on.

"Hmm, of course it is," she said with a fake smile in his direction.

"And because I know how much you love the devilish side of this case, I went home this afternoon and got something," Hodgins grinned then.

"I'm scared to find out what it could be," Cam deadpanned.

"The rest of the lab liked it. I just covered it up so I could surprise you," he got even more excited.

"Somehow I think you're liking this more than I will," she remained skeptical, knowing that the excitement that was written all over his face always meant trouble. "Dear God, what are you doing?" she asked next when he unbuttoned his shirt and then turned back around to her. He now wore a t-shirt that said "I am with the Great Satan".

"Wicked, huh?" he grinned proudly at her.

"1. You're spending too much time with Michelle," she commented on his choice of words, "and 2. This is not suitable work attire, Hodgins," she lectured and then pulled him aside by his sleeve. "Also, you are well aware that this sentence refers to the Muslims who hate us and it will make Arastoo really uncomfortable if he sees it. I thought you trust him now?" she whispered.

"I do. This has nothing to do with him. I just saw a shirt with 'Satan' on it and thought it'd be funny because of the case. One more Satan-slash-Devil joke," he replied with a pout, sad that she didn't think it was funny.

"We have to be more sensible than this. You know I don't mind jokes, but I don't want Arastoo to be offended, now that we're learning to accept his beliefs."

"Who said anything about accepting it?" he whispered back, before he raised his voice again. "You're being a spoil sport again Dr. Saroyan," he shot back and grabbed his flannel shirt.

"You've nearly been fired before for insulting me, so think about your words, Dr. Hodgins," she mock-fought back, but it was enough to make Arastoo look up with a worried expression on his face.

"Seems like I was right to call you an ink-pressing wanktard back then," he replied and took one more step in her direction. They were standing toe to toe, glaring at each other.

"I, uhm, I need to check something," Arastoo excused himself from Cam's office and fled.

"You're fired, Hodgins," Cam said once they were alone, still looking him into the eyes.

"Try doing that, Saroyan," he replied just as aggressively. Then they couldn't hold back anymore and started laughing. "I think Arastoo really thinks we're fighting," Hodgins said.

"He doesn't know us well enough yet," she agreed.

"You're done after this autopsy?" he asked her then so he could estimate when they would leave.

"Yes, but I just started so it might still be a while," she nodded.

"Give me a call when you're done," he nodded, pecked her lips and left her office again.

"Hodgins!" Cam called after him when he was already outside.

"Yes?" he asked and stuck his head back in.

"Put your shirt back on. The t-shirt is hereby banned from this lab," she grinned sweetly at him and chuckled when she heard him muttering something while he walked away.

* * *

"Anything on the nun chucks?" Cam asked Hodgins when she entered his lab the next day.

"Hmm, they are completely clean. There are dents though, so they've been used," he replied.

"Can you rule them out as the murder weapon?" she wanted to know.

"Are you asking me to do an experiment?" he grinned and his voice got quieter, deeper and more intimate. Cam didn't smile back though, but crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"With," she sighed, "Arastoo…"

"Why are you saying his name like that?" he asked her with a small smile, knowing she was freaking out over something again. At least this time she sought him out and might even talk about it.

"Like what?" she asked back innocently.

"'Arastoo...' like you're chewing on his name," he imitated her and wrinkled his forehead. Cam turned around to see if they were alone.

"Arastoo says he looks at the Devil every day," she told him then in a hushed voice.

"Maybe he has low self-esteem," he shrugged, again with a small smile. He adored the routine they had when she was freaking out and he would try to find excuses for whatever was going on.

"Or… you know what they call us right?" she asked him, but he still didn't understand what she was getting at.

"'They' being…," he wanted clarification beside his amusement.

"Muslims.,." she spilled with closed eyes and held up her hands like they would all come looking for her any second. "Some Muslims, the ones over there trying to kill us," she added then.

"Yeah, they call us 'the Great Satan'," he shrugged again and caught on when she gave him a duh look. "Oh". He couldn't say more because Arastoo entered at that moment.

"Look, here, what I found. Radiating micro-fractures in the cartilage of the victim's vestigial tail," he showed them on the screen.

"Radiating micro-fractures plus a ruptured intestine?" Cam said, more asking herself than anyone else.

"What does that mean?" Hodgins asked, knowing that she already had an answer to her own question, simply by the tone she had said it in.

"He was slammed into something," she informed him.

"Perhaps in fact he did wrestle with an archangel… and lose," Arastoo mused and Hodgins slowly turned his head and looked at Cam who raised an eyebrow. "As it should be, the Devil lost. As he always must. I will inform Dr. Brennan!" Arastoo added and left the room again.

"'The Devil lost?'," Cam repeated and slowly dropped the fake smile she had put on her face when the intern had left.

"'As he always must'?" Hodgins repeated the second part of the statement.

"What if Arastoo means us?" she asked him.

"Arastoo is a very sweet, gentle guy, you know?" he tried to find his usual arguments against her freak out.

"I know but that doesn't mean that in his heart he doesn't look down on us. Do you want to work with someone who thinks you're the Great Satan?" she asked him with raised eyebrows.

"No! I don't want to be the Great Satan! I don't even want to be a minor demon," he replied, slightly pouting and managed to make her smile. "You want me to talk to him?" he offered then.

"Yes," she replied without hesitation and then sighed."But, unfortunately, dopey interpersonal crap falls under my job description," she said and left. Hodgins watched her, then grabbed the tray with the nun chucks and followed her, deciding he should start setting up the experiment.

* * *

At five in the afternoon Hodgins wheeled a crash test dummy onto the forensic platform where Arastoo was already waiting for him.

"Test number one. Now, I've placed sensors in this dummy to register the impacts of the nun chuck strikes," he explained and grabbed the nun chucks from the table and held out one hand to the intern, so he would stay back. As usual, he enjoyed this experiment more than he should and so he bowed to the dummy and feigned being a ninja, with all the sounds and moves he had seen on TV.

"Dr. Hodgins, with nun chucks it's very important that you…,"Arastoo wanted to warn him, but it was already too late. Hodgins hit himself straight in the forehead with one and fell to the ground like a dropped sack of potatoes.

"Are you alright?" the intern worried, while Hodgins groaned in pain on the floor.

"Son of a bitch!" he exclaimed, his face distorted with pain as he tried to sit up.

"As I was saying, nun chucks are deceptively difficult to maneuver if you've had no practice," Arastoo finished his warning, but Hodgins only groaned in pain and held his forehead. "May I?" he asked then, pointing to the weapon.

"Nuh… okay, uh …knock yourself out. I did," Hodgins reluctantly handed him the nun chucks. Arastoo wielded them perfectly and hit the dummy while Hodgins watched him disbelievingly. "What are you, some kind of Persian ninja?" he asked, but Arastoo didn't answer. Slowly he crawled to the monitor and checked the results. All he could see were blurry numbers that were way too high though. "That can't be right," he said and covered one eye with his hand. "Oh, okay, yeah, no that's better," he muttered.

"Was this the murder weapon?" the Iranian intern asked.

"Uh, the diameter of the weapon matches, but, see, okay, nun chucks swing on an axis, because of the chain, right, which means the force increases exponentially along the length of the striking surface," Hodgins explained.

"But the victim's wound was proportional along the length of the weapon," Arastoo told him what he already knew.

"If Lloyd, the drug dealing nurse, killed Neal, the demonic schizophrenic, then this was not the weapon," Hodgins agreed with him, then rolled his eyes and fell unconscious on the floor,

"Dr. Hodgins?" Arastoo asked and placed a hand on his shoulder, shaking him lightly. "Dr. Hodgins?" Again he didn't get a response. He stood back up straight and looked around. Through the glass he could see that Cam was in her office and he hurried to her.

"Mr. Vaziri?" Cam asked when he entered.

"Dr. Saroyan, there has been an accident with the nun chucks," he hurried to explain.

"What accident?" she asked, not yet really alarmed. When did Hodgins experiments ever work without damage?

"Dr. Hodgins wouldn't listen when I told him that nun chucks should be handled carefully and struck himself in the forehead with the weapon and now he's lying unconscious out on the platform," he reported. At first Cam had started laughing when he had said that Hodgins had hit himself, but when he added that the entomologist was unconscious she got worried.

"I'll be out in a second," she told him and went to get her bag with her medical doctor gear. When she reached the platform Hodgins had just opened his eyes and was blinking against the bright light in the lab.

"Jack, stay down please," she told him and kneeled down beside him.

"I'm ok," he groaned not very convincingly.

"Are you _ok_ enough to slowly sit up?" she asked him once she had check his pupil reflexes.

"If the room stops spinning," he said but really sat up. Carefully Cam inspected the bruise on his forehead and he flinched when she applied pressure to check if anything was broken.

"I think it might be better to have that x-rayed, just in case," she came to a conclusion.

"No, come on, baby, it's not that bad," he groaned in reply, forgetting their rules momentarily as well as the fact that Arastoo was still standing next to them.

"Mr. Vaziri, could you help Dr. Hodgins back to his lab and make him sit down? I will get some pain meds and an ice pack," Cam turned to the intern after she had cleared her throat in embarrassment.

"Of course, Dr. Saroyan," the intern replied friendly as ever and Cam hurried off before Hodgins had another slip. She went to the kitchen up on the mezzanine and got the ice pack, then quickly to her own office to get the pain meds. Tylenol wouldn't do this time.

"Here, take these," she said and handed him the pills and a glass of water before she turned to Brennan's intern again. "Could you put the rest of the experiment away, please?"

"Of course, Dr. Saroyan," he nodded and left the room.

"Ow," Hodgins yammered when Cam placed the ice pack on his forehead.

"You idiot," she shook her head as she watched him while he lay on his couch with closed eyes.

"Stupid nun chucks," he muttered in reply. Cam didn't say anything and because of his closed eyes he couldn't see the smile that spread on her face. When he heard her trying to suppress her laughter he opened his eyes though and glared at her.

"I'm sorry, Jack, I really am... but I see you knocking yourself out in my head..." she laughed and wasn't able to hold it back anymore.

"You're mean to me," he pouted as he watched her laugh. "First you want me to get x-rays and now you're laughing about me," he added.

"You're right, honey, I'm sorry," she apologized and took the ice pack off his forehead to check the bruise again.

"Do I look like the last unicorn?" he asked her and carefully inspected the damage with his fingertips.

"Not yet," she smiled and stroked some hair off his forehead. "Keep this on for another ten minutes and stay on the couch, don't get up, ok? I'll check on you in a few minutes," she instructed.

"Ok," he replied without protesting and that's when she realized that he was really hurting or the pain meds were already making him sleepy.

* * *

When Cam checked on Hodgins again she found him asleep in his lab and decided that she should let him rest for half an hour and then wake him up. She was sure that he had a concussion and needed monitoring.

While he was asleep she got some more work done and she went on her usual round again, checking if the case made any progress.

"You found something?" she asked Arastoo in the bone room.

"Yes. Cause of death," he nodded.

"Excellent, what happened?" she replied curiously.

"First, I'd like to clarify something. After we talked about my beliefs you were clearly upset," he said somewhat uncomfortable.

"What? No, that's not… true," she tried to brush it off.

"My words could have been construed as a Muslim referring to America as the Great Satan," he insisted on staying on that topic though.

"I'm not familiar with that phrase. Could we get back to this?" Cam lied and pointed to the bones.

"I found micro-fractures on the metacarpals on the same arm with the Colles fracture. I love this country Dr. Saroyan," he said and was back to explaining himself. "When I said I see the Devil's face daily... you know I served as a translator in Iraq? Normal day milk run to an outlying village to talk about water and an IED took out our Humvee," he told her.

"Oh my God," Cam was shocked.

"Two dead, three wounded and I was the only one left conscious. I'm a translator, I use words, but coming towards us with an AK-47, an insurgent. He raised it intending to finish us off," he went on.

"And that was the Devil?" she asked.

"No, no. I shot this man in the heart. The Devil, that evil, I saw it in his eyes, sure, but it was in me too when I pulled that trigger."

"You were defending your unit Mr. Vaziri," she tried to give him consolation.

"This man lay dead at my feet. I searched his body for identification and I found a photograph of him with his little boy, his wife laughing. A family. Tell me that the Devil did not win on that day," he asked her.

"You didn't lose your faith. You pray five times a day," she pointed out, intrigued how he did it.

"I have to believe that Allah will show me how to live," he said and then went back to the body. "I found micro-fractures on the maxillary and mandibular."

"He was electrocuted?" Cam asked.

"The current must have passed through his hand, traveled across his body, then out his backside," the intern confirmed.

"It was the muscle spasms that caused his intestines to rupture. I should let Dr. Brennan know right away."

"Of course." Cam walked to the exit, then did a double take and turned back around. She couldn't lie to him.

"I did… think that – wonder if you considered us to be the Great Satan. I am familiar with that phrase," she admitted embarrassed.

"I know. I was there when you told Dr. Hodgins that his t-shirt which read "I am with the Great Satan" is not suitable work attire," he laughed and Cam smiled at him, remembering the scene from a day before.

* * *

"Slowly the headache is coming back," Hodgins said when they pulled up in front of his mansion later that evening. Other than one short visit to Angela's office once he had been woken up, he hadn't done much for the rest of the day at the lab.

"You should eat something and then take another pill for the pain," Cam replied, got out of the car and locked it with one push on the key.

"Finally!" Michelle greeted them when they entered the house, and it seemed she'd been waiting in the hallway.

"What's wrong with you?" Cam laughed and hung up her coat while Hodgins decided to take his shoes off while sitting.

"Matt was here and he left you a present. Or two to be exact," Michelle reported and pointed to the living room. Cam peeked around the corner and saw Tanesha and Tallulah sitting in front of the TV, watching The Little Mermaid.

"This is not happening! Tell me I'm just having a nightmare," Cam said to Michelle, her mouth hanging open, when she saw the girls.

"Sorry, but this is real. When I came home from school they were sitting outside the main gate, each with a can of coke and a sandwich in hand for the wait. So I brought them in with me, gave them something to eat, and parked them in front of the TV so I could do my homework."

"I swear to god I will kill him and then call child services," Cam fumed loudly and made Hodgins groan behind her.

"Can you do that more quietly?" he asked, holding his forehead.

"You better go upstairs and hide in the bedroom before they see you," Cam told him quietly.

"What's wrong with him?" Michelle asked while she watched him slowly walk up the stairs without much more than a tired wave in her direction.

"He tried to be a ninja today, but knocked himself out in the process. He refused to go to the hospital, so I x-rayed him at the Institute. It's a concussion. I can't tell how strong it is, but I can't let him sleep for longer than two hours," she sighed.

"Poor Hodgins," Michelle said sympathetically. "Anything I can do to help?"

"If you don't mind you could make us something to eat while I call Matt. Once the girls are gone I'll be able to handle it," Cam replied thankfully.

"Any wishes?" the teen asked while they slowly neared the door to the living room.

"Something the kids eat. Mac and Cheese?" she shrugged, not really knowing much about her nieces favorite foods.

"No problem," Michelle smiled.

"Thank you, honey," Cam smiled back and hugged her briefly before she stepped into the living room and faced her nieces. "Hey you two! What are you doing here?" she greeted them and had to laugh when the girls jumped up, ran to her, and hugged her.

"We wanted to see you again and Daddy said he can't stand us anymore," Tanesha replied and didn't seem bothered by her father's outburst.

"I didn't know you two were coming. Daddy should have called," Cam said and stroked over their hair.

"We have 'jamas this time," Tallulah told her proudly and pointed to backpacks that were sitting beside the couch.

"I packed them 'cause Mommy forgot," her sister added.

"Wow, that's so thoughtful of you," Cam smiled, the urge to kill her brother and his wife becoming stronger and stronger.

"Where's Uncle Hodgins?" the younger girl then asked.

"You know, Hodgins had a little accident today and he's sick and must sleep a lot," Cam explained.

"Will he be ok?" Tanesha asked worried.

"He'll be just fine. We just have to be quiet so he can sleep, ok?" Cam used the opportunity.

"K," both girls nodded.

"Why don't you go and watch your movie and I will check on Hodgins. We'll eat in half an hour," their aunt informed them and without protest they walked back to the couch. Cam went into the kitchen instead of upstairs.

"You're gonna call him now?" Michelle asked while she filled a pot with pasta.

"Mmmh," Cam made and pushed the buttons on the phone. "Matt?" she asked when someone picked up. "Matt! You come over here right now and get your kids!" she barked and then just hung up when he replied something.

"And?" her daughter asked her.

"He's either high or drunk. He can't even form a complete sentence," Cam said angrily.

"Where's his wife and the boys?"

"I don't know and I don't have the time to find out, but I know someone who will," Cam said through gritted teeth and dialed a number again.

"Oh, I know those digits. You're going right to the nuclear bomb," Michelle commented.

"You bet I am," Cam nodded.

"Saroyan," her father said when he picked up.

"Dad, it's me, Cam," she said, her voice so strained that it was obvious she wasn't calling to say hello.

"What did I do this time?" her father sighed.

"You? Nothing. But you either kill Matt or I'll do it after I castrate him first," she fumed and Michelle scrunched up her face, listening to the conversation while she cooked.

"Cami, what's going on?"

"First he stops by unannounced last weekend at Jack's place with his whole family and today he dumped his girls in front of the door and just left," she told him.

"Maybe there was an emergency?" her father tried to find an excuse.

"Oh Dad, please! We both know that the only emergency at Matt's place is either vodka or dope," she disagreed. "I called him and he was completely wasted," she added. "And I really don't have the time to drive three hours up to NYC just to get the girls home to their drunk father and their irresponsible mother."

"The girls are still with you?" Mr. Saroyan asked worried.

"Yes, but I can't keep them tonight. Jack hurt himself at work today and he has a concussion. I don't know where the boys are, though," Cam replied.

"I will drive up and find out... take Junior with me," her father decided because of the long drive and because he wasn't sure what would await him at his son's place.

"Can you send over Felicia or Caitlin to get the girls?"

"Can't you keep them just this one night? Caitlin's twins have the chicken pox and the girls don't like your sister," he begged.

"One night Dad, one. If he doesn't pick them up at six on the dot tomorrow morning I'll call child services... should have done that years ago," she threatened and her father sighed.

"Cami..."

"Six o' clock Dad, not a minute later," she remained stubborn. "We have to work tomorrow, not that he knows what that is."

"I'll take care of it," her father replied.

"Ok, thanks Dad," she finally said after a second of uneasy silence. "Drive safe."

"Bye honey," her father replied and they both hung up.

"I don't like child services," Michelle said when Cam kept staring at the phone in her hands after she had hung up.

"You didn't really need them," Cam replied absentmindedly.

"Because you were there and took me in," Michelle told her quietly.

"Or the cousin of your dad in Chicago could have taken you." Cam looked up from the phone.

"There's no cousin in Chicago. I just said that because I didn't want you to feel obligated to take me," Michelle admitted quietly. Cam walked over to her, wrapped one arm around her shoulder, and kissed her forehead.

"I love you, honey," she simply said.

"I love you, too, Cam," Michelle smiled and leaned her forehead sideways against Cam's for a moment before she turned back to the stove.

**Tbc**


	16. Chapter 16

**Sorry for the delay in posting this. And I have another bad message. It's not 100% yet because you never know when my obsession will get the better of me again, but there will most likely be a short hiatus. I have the most important exams of my life coming up in July and the safety package of chapters I had wanted to write before I have to start learning didn't happen, because I've been sick for the last 2 weeks and wasn't able to sit for lnger than a few minutes. The rest of my time I spend standing or lying down- only way I wasn't screaming in pain. Antibiotics did work though so I'm feeling better. Hope you are all well and thank you so much for the reviews. It was a nice surprise to get reviews for once for this story while usually there's only silence.**

**Thanks to Gianna for betaing!**

**Chapter 16: Sleepless and page 187  
**

**8:15pm**

"Uncle Hodgins!" Tallulah yelled happily when Jack trudged into the dining room.

"Hello Lullah," he managed a smile for the girl's sake. When he sat down on his chair he picked her up and put her in his lap.

"You're still sick?" her sister asked and eyed him questioningly.

"My head still hurts. I had a little accident today at work and hurt my head," he told them.

"Then we'll be extra quiet," the smaller girl vowed.

"That's really nice of you," he smiled at her and let her climb off his lap. "When can I take some pain meds again?" he turned to Cam.

"That bad?" she asked him sympathetically.

"I feel like my head was run over by a truck- repeatedly," he confirmed.

"Eat something first, then you can lie back down and take another pill," she decided.

"I could take the pill and stay up to help you," he offered and motioned with his chin in the direction of the girls.

"We've got it covered Dr. H.," Michelle replied for Cam while she served the homemade mac and cheese.

**10:38pm**

"But I wanna sleep in your bed again," Tallulah cried, while Cam covered her with a blanket and then sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Not tonight, honey. Hodgins is not feeling well and he needs to sleep. If you go in now he'll wake up," Cam explained for the thousandth time.

"I can't sleep here, it's scary," the girl sobbed, her cries mixing with those of her sisters'.

"I will stay here with you until you're asleep, ok? I'm right here," Cam tried to console her and lay down next to her on the bed. Her niece snuggled up to her and clung to her, so she rolled on her back and held the girl against her, slowly rubbing over her back.

"I'm scared too," Tanesha cried and tried to get closer to Cam as well. Cam hugged her closer with her right arm, while she held the younger child with her left.

"Everything ok here?" Michelle asked when she stuck her head through the door.

"They're scared," Cam replied, her patience already wearing thin as she internally cursed her brother for this and felt sorry for the kids.

"Come here, Nesha, I'll protect you," Michelle said and Cam shot her a grateful look and a small smile, when she got into bed as well, and held the older girl the same way Cam held her younger sister as they lulled them to sleep.

**1:23am**

"Jack? Jack?" Cam asked as she stumbled out of bed. His side was empty and light fell into the bedroom from the bathroom door, which was ajar. She followed the light and found him hunched over the toilet, throwing up. Without saying anything she took a towel from the rack, wet it with cold water and placed it carefully on his neck. While he kept retching she sat down on the edge of the bathtub and handed him toilet paper when he was finally done. While he wiped his mouth and slowly stood up she filled a glass with water and mouth wash and held it out to him. He rinsed his mouth with it and sighed deeply.

"My head is killing me," he admitted through closed his eyes and pressed two fingers to the bridge of his nose.

"Can you follow my finger with your eyes?" Cam requested and observed his eye movements while she moved her finger slowly in front of his face.

"And?" he asked when she was done.

"Still works. Are you seeing double? Are you dizzy? Anything else besides the headache and nausea?" she asked him and stroked over his hair when he hugged her and tiredly let his head drop on her shoulder.

"Light hurts," he admitted.

"Then let's go back to bed, you need rest," she advised and led him back to the dark bedroom.

"Now everything is spinning and I'm feeling sick again," he admitted once he'd lie down.

"Stay in bed, I'll be right back," she told him and hurried out of the bedroom and down the stairs. In the kitchen she found a bucket and an ice-pack in the freezer. She took both and hurried back upstairs.

"The bucket is right next to the bed," she informed him and went into the bathroom to get a hand towel that she wrapped once around the ice pack. "Can you lie on your back?" she asked him and placed the ice on his forehead once he did.

"Feels good," he mumbled.

"Sleep. I'm right here," she told him softly and crawled back into bed herself. She knew she had to wake him again in two hours, if he didn't wake again on his own.

**3:08am**

"I can't sleep," Tanesha sobbed heartbreakingly next to Cam's bed as she shook her aunt lightly.

"Shhh, honey, come here," Cam mumbled tiredly, worried the girl would wake Hodgins, who had just fallen asleep again after throwing up for the third time that night. She picked her up, then got up herself and walked out of the bedroom and into the hallway. She slid down, leaning against the wall and kept her niece in her arms. "Did you have a nightmare?" she asked her.

"A monster with a laser gun wanted to kill me," the girl nodded.

"Sweetie, that can't happen in here," Cam told her. "You know why?"

"Why?" the girls sniffed.

"Because Hodgins has so many video cameras and alarms in this house, that the monster wouldn't even get past the gate," she assured her.

"But it can fly and landed on the roof," her niece added.

"No one gets into this house, not even a flying monster," Cam nodded. "You want me to tell you a secret?" she whispered conspiratorially.

"What?" Tanesha whispered back and finally stopped crying.

"Your Uncle Hodgins is a bit crazy. He believes in all kinds of monsters and aliens," Cam started.

"Even flying ones with laser guns?"

"Even flying ones with laser guns. That's why he has all kinds of expensive and crazy defense systems in this house, in the garden and on the roof. Do you know Batman's Batcave?"

"Yeah," her niece nodded.

"That's how safe and secret this house is. No monster can get you here," Cam assured her again. "Okay?"

"'Kay," Tanesha agreed and lay her cheek against Cam's shoulder and closed her eyes. Slowly Cam rocked from side to side in the dark hallway and when the breathing of the child became deep and even she got up and placed her back in bed, before she went back to her own bed.

**4:42am**

Again Cam was awoken from her slumber by a hand on her shoulder shaking her.

"Mmmh," she groaned, not even bothering to open her eyes.

"Aunt Cami, I'm not tired anymore. Is it morning yet?" Tallulah asked her in a loud whisper.

"No, it's still the middle of the night," Cam replied, still with closed eyes.

"But I can't sleep anymore," the girl insisted. Cam thought about getting up and taking her back to her own bed, but then decided against it. Instead she just shifted closer to the middle of the bed and lifted her blanket up.

"Get in, honey," she whispered and covered the girl with the blanket once she was lying snuggled up with her back against Cam's front. She tensed when she felt Hodgins rolling onto his side behind her, thinking he would get up again to throw up, but then she felt his arm sneaking up over her waist and hugging her to him. With a small smile she drifted off once again.

**5:56am**

She was so tired that she had a headache by now, but still she crawled out of bed when the doorbell rang through the house again, knowing it would be her brother picking up the girls.

"Sorry, I was in the bathroom," Michelle said when they met on the stairs and Cam was still struggling to get her arms into the sleeves of her bath robe.

"Can you get me some coffee? I'll need fuel after I'll have killed Matt," Cam mumbled and walked to the intercom by the door and pressed the button to open the main gate so her brother could drive in.

"Sure," Michelle smiled and walked into the kitchen. Cam leaned with closed eyes against the wall until there was a knock on the door. When she opened she came face to face with her father, not her brother.

"Dad," she said both surprised and tired at the same time.

"Morning Cami," he replied and sounded just as tired as she did. She knew he had driven all the way up to New York last evening and then back down the same night so he could get the kids.

"Come in," she told him. "You want some coffee?" she asked, having heard the coffee machine in Hodgins kitchen roaring to life.

"I could really use a cup, yeah," her father nodded gratefully and followed her into the kitchen. "Morning, Michelle," he smiled at the teen who served him a coffee without asking and placed another cup underneath the machine and pressed the button once again for Cam.

"Morning," she smiled and then prepared her own breakfast, knowing there was no way that their usual breakfast routine would sustain that day.

"The girls are still asleep?" Mr. Saroyan asked after they had all sipped their coffee in silence for a while.

"Yeah, they were up during the night. Lullah is now lying in my bed, while Nesha is back in her own," Cam reported.

"Was it one of the girls throwing up around three this morning when I went to the bathroom?" Michelle asked.

"No, that was Jack. He was throwing up all night, the last time about half an hour ago," Cam shook her head.

"Oh boy, night from hell I guess," Michelle commented.

"You can say that again. I haven't slept longer than half an hour at any point during the night," Cam nodded and lay her head on her arms on the kitchen counter.

"I went to your brother last night," her father started reporting and Cam knew that it wouldn't be a happy story. "Took Jo with me, just in case. He was on duty anyway. Whole flat smelled like a cheap brothel with alcohol and pot. Matt was both drunk and high, so you weren't too far off. Kendra had locked the boys into their room so they wouldn't disturb them. She was trying to keep your brother out of trouble when he started picking fights with the 'guests' in his house."

"Am I even allowed to hear this?" Michelle sighed.

"I think you should hear this, so you won't get tempted to try certain things," Cam nodded and sat up again.

"Tell me the rest later, I have to leave now," Michelle said and grabbed the sandwich she had made herself.

"Drive safe, honey," Cam replied. Michelle kissed her cheek and was off. "Did you bury everything again?" she asked her dad then, once they were alone.

"No, not this time. Jo took Matt in so he couldn't hurt himself or the others; he also called for backup to arrest the others. He will be charged this time for the drugs," her father said sadly.

"I'm sorry Dad, but he can't go on like this. He has four kids, he has responsibilities," she told him.

"I know. He will go straight to prison; he's still out on probation."

"And Kendra?"

"She was clean this time, so she'll stay with the kids," he shrugged.

"That's something, at least," Cam sighed. "You want me to wake the girls?" she asked him then.

"Yeah, I should get them home before it occurs to Matt or his wife that they might be better off with you and Hodgins," he grinned.

"I couldn't take them, Dad. We both work all day," she held up her hands.

"And still I know that if it was really necessary you wouldn't think twice about taking them in," he smiled.

"Jack would be cured for all eternity from the thought of his own kids," Cam laughed and wrapped her bathrobe around herself again. "You're coming up with me so we can grab their stuff?" she asked him then.

"Sure," he shrugged and followed her upstairs. "Really nice house," he complimented when they reached the first guestroom.

"I know. Michelle and I will move in soon when we find the time," she admitted.

"Tell me when you'll need help," her father offered.

"And let an old man carry our stuff? No way, Dad," she grinned and opened the door to the room where Tanesha was sleeping. "Baby, come on, wake up. Grandpa is here to get you home," Cam said quietly and pulled the blanket away from her niece. The girl only groaned and rolled to her side.

"Hand her over, I'll carry her. You take Lullah and we can put them in the car seats and then get their stuff," her father decided. Carefully Cam took her niece out of bed and handed her to her father. In the semi darkness she packed the clothes of the two girls and went into the bathroom to get their toothbrushes.

"Sleep, princess. I'll get you two home," Mr. Saroyan cooed at the child when she stirred in his arms. He followed Cam to the main bedroom, but stayed outside in the lit hallway and watched his daughter as she picked up the smaller girl and quickly checked on her guy, before she walked back out and quietly closed the door behind her.

"Ready?" Cam asked him and followed him back downstairs. They stepped out into the cold and buckled the girls into the car seats in the back of Mr. Saroyan's car. Cam hurried back inside to get the backpacks.

"I really want to bail him out again for his kids," her father admitted when he had closed the backdoor.

"You shouldn't bail him out because of the kids. He'll never learn, Dad," she told him and hugged him shortly.

"Your mother always said the same thing," he admitted and got into his car.

"Take care Dad and keep me updated," she said.

"I will. Oh, and by the way... your sister is plotting to visit you here next week. Just thought I should warn you," he winked at her.

"If I see one more Saroyan within the next 6 months, I will kill myself," she replied darkly and her father only laughed.

"Bye honey."

"Bye Dad."

Once her father was gone and Cam back inside, she heard Hodgins throwing up again upstairs and grabbed the phone. After a quick call to the Jeffersonian, telling them that they wouldn't be in that day- at least not until the afternoon- she quickly changed and drove to the nearest pharmacy where she got him something to help the nausea. When Jack fell asleep again she kicked off her shoes, fell into bed and finally slept.

The next day was a Saturday and both Hodgins and Cam were surprised when the doorbell rang. They were lying in bed watching old movies, since Jack still had a headache.

"I'll go," Cam said and slowly sat up.

"Michelle forgot her key?" he asked.

"She said she was going shopping. Impossible that she'd be back after an hour," Cam shook her head and left the bedroom. Downstairs she switched on the monitor and was surprised to see Angela's car in front of the gate. She pressed the button to let her in and checked her appearance in the mirror while she waited for her to arrive in front of the house. She was wearing old jeans, a simple black shirt, her hair was wrapped in a pony tail and her feet naked. Beside rouge and lip-gloss she had no makeup on and she knew that she would feel like an ugly duckling beside Angela.

"Oh, you're here... hi Cam," Angela greeted her when she got out of the car and saw that her boss was already leaning in the open doorway.

"Hi Angela," she replied and although she was curious she bit back the question of what she was doing there.

"I was just in the area and I know, I should have called, but it was kind of a spur of the moment thing... I just wanted to see how Hodgins is doing," the artist rambled as they stood in the entry way and Cam just looked at her questioningly.

"He's lying around in bed, watching old black and white movies, basking in being wounded," Cam grinned.

"I got worried when you two didn't come in yesterday," Angela told her and took off her jacket.

"You want something to drink?" Cam asked her and led her to the kitchen. "Coffee? Tea? Soda?"

"Coffee sounds good," Angela nodded. Cam switched on the coffee machine and while it heated up she went to the intercom beside the fridge and called the bedroom upstairs. In the bedrooms the intercom was connected to the telephones and not to speakers like in all the other rooms, which prevented someone from eavesdropping without the knowledge of those who occupied the room.

"Cam?" his voice came through the speaker when he picked up.

"Angela is here to check on you," she told him.

"Meaning I have to get up and come down?" he asked unenthusiastically.

"It won't hurt you," she told him and ended the connection, rolling her eyes. "Men," she said to Angela. "First he plays ninja, then hurts himself and now he's acting like he's dying."

"While we were together he had the flu one time and by the sounds he made I thought he'd stop breathing any moment," Angela laughed knowingly.

"He was throwing up the whole night and I got worried that maybe he had really injured himself," Cam said, placed a cup underneath the coffee machine and pressed the button.

"He's got a hard head," her colleague grinned.

"Obviously," Cam nodded.

"Hey, you. You should show some sympathy when you visit a sick person and not gossip behind his back," Hodgins complained when he walked in, dressed in grey jogging pants and a green shirt.

"We weren't gossiping. Just comparing notes," Angela teased him.

"That's even scarier," he replied and sat down beside her. "Did you call your Dad again?" he turned to his girlfriend.

"No, not yet. He said he'd call, so I guess he will," she replied in the negative. "My brother dropped off my two nieces without any forewarning Thursday night. So on top of having a sick Hodgins I had two kids around who kept waking up," Cam explained for Angela when the artist looked intrigued from one to the other.

"Oh, nice. At least that's something I don't have to worry about with only my dad around," the artist replied.

"The younger one, Talullah, she says she wants to marry me," Hodgins told her laughingly.

"You like that, don't you?" Cam grinned and brought Angela's coffee over.

"Of course. It's good for my ego," he laughed and pulled her closer by the waist, so she was standing in between his legs.

"Yeah, because that needs a boost," came her sarcastic reply.

"Don't tease me, I'm still sick," he said for lack of a better comeback and kissed her tenderly.

"Be careful that we don't bump heads," she said softly when he pulled back and stroked over his forehead.

"So, do you have any other plans for the weekend?" Angela asked and looked up from the cup into which she had been staring while the two had teased each other.

"Not really. Tonight I will cook my two ladies an amazing feast as a thank you for their TLC these past couple days and tomorrow... don't know," Hodgins shrugged and looked at Cam while he said the first part, watching the surprise and then the smile on her face.

"Wendell and I wanted to meet some friends tomorrow evening. If you want to come," she suggested.

"I think I'd rather stay home," Hodgins decided and again pulled Cam closer to him.

"I think I'll call Brennan later and ask her to come along as well," Angela tried to tempt them into coming.

"I think after all the Saroyans I saw the last few weeks I need some peace and quiet," Came declined as well.

"Ok, then I better get going. I have an appointment with another artist in an hour," Angela said then and got up. Both Hodgins and Cam followed her to the door and said goodbye.

"If she has an appointment in an hour why didn't she just call and ask how you were?" Cam wondered once they had closed the door.

"Are you really trying to understand Angela?" he asked and led her back to the stairs.

"No, I just... ok, just forget it," she shook her head but still seemed uncertain.

"No, what did you want to say?" he prodded as they reached the top of the stairs.

"I'm just being crazy and maybe a bit jealous," she avoided answering and walked into their bedroom where the movie was still playing.

"Camille Saroyan, spit it out!" he said and stopped her from getting onto the bed by wrapping his arms around her waist from behind.

"I just had the feeling that she had been hoping that I wouldn't be here," she admitted.

"She's with Wendell. I'm with you," he pointed out.

"I know. Maybe I'm wrong, it's just... a feeling," she shrugged and they both lay back down on the bed and resumed watching their movie.

A few days later both Hodgins and Cam were back to work and they had a new case. A dead man had been found in a subway tunnel and had been washed up when a water pipe had burst during an earthquake.

While Cam was working outside on the platform with Brennan, Hodgins was still not at the lab, because he had an appointment at the garage for an inspection. He had left before her that morning and was due back at any moment.

While he was still absent Brennan had brought another guest to the lab, a Japanese reporter who was researching an article about Brennan and her book. And then even Sweets stopped by, still clearly shaken by watching this young man die earlier that morning.

"Lance? What are you doing here?" Daisy asked her boyfriend.

"I came to offer my-my services. Earthquakes can cause psychological trauma," he replied.

"Yes, for you, baby. What you've been through..." Daisy started sympathetically.

"I'm fine, Daisy," he assured her.

"Sweets, you saw somebody die," Cam said more firmly.

"I know my Lancelot. You needed to see me, didn't you?" Daisy cooed and Cam thought she'd gag.

"No, I'm just trying to do my job," he at least didn't jump on the ship.

"Oh," came the dejected reply.

"Booth told you to go home. He knows about things like this, Sweets," Brennan intervened as well.

"We'll call if we need you, I promise. We'll have Hodgins drive you home," Cam told him, knowing that he should arrive any second. Without another word Sweets walked off.

"Bye, Lancelot," Daisy called, but he just waved.

"Note the victim's clavicle," Brennan turned their attention back to work related things.

"It's dented," Cam noticed.

"And blue," Daisy added.

"There's also a blue nick on the C-7," Brennan observed.

"Something blue pierced his clavicle and went through to the back of his neck. That would have sliced through the carotid artery," Cam pointed out.

"Ms. Wick, take molds of the clavicle for a possible weapon and swab the blue pigment for Hodgins," Brennan instructed her intern.

"I'll go and see if he's here now, so he can drive Sweets home and then start working," Cam told the other two and left for Hodgins office.

When Hodgins got back from driving Sweets home he analyzed the blue substance and then hurried out to inform his colleagues.

"I identified the blue substance on his bones as a polymer: paint or rubber, maybe dye. That's why I'd like to go searching for rat poop," he told Cam, Brennan and Daisy excitedly.

"Of course you'd like that," Cam remarked dryly with a grin.

"Yes, the victim was eaten by rats in the subway tunnels," Brennan supported his idea, although not as excitedly.

"Rat excrement will contain not only inorganic clues but digested remains from the victim. That could give us time of death, too," Daisy waved around her knowledge and Cam once again felt the urge to slap or strangle her. Oh, if only she could...

"Go for it," she finally decided to let Hodgins have some fun in a tunnel with rats.

"Well, I'll need some help," he replied and looked at her. Cam pointed to Daisy without thinking and grinned upon the thought of having her out of the lab all day. "You seem to know your poop," she told Daisy, who seemed to take that as a compliment.

"Hey, do you know where I placed my copy of Brennan's new book?" Hodgins asked Cam once he was back that afternoon.

"Uhm, I think it must still be in your bag. As far as I know you didn't take it out. Why? You've got nothing to do?" she asked in full boss mode.

"No, Dr. Saroyan, I just haven't had a break yet and I thought I could read some more. Daisy told me that page 187 is especially interesting," he grinned cockily.

"Brennan wrote a sex scene in her book?" Cam asked surprised and finally really looked up from her computer screen.

"Oh, now you're interested," he laughed.

"You know I like my 'sex books' as you call them. A little bit of romance can't hurt," she grinned sheepishly.

"Who knows, maybe I'll learn something on page 187 and we'll both profit from me reading crime novels. Your sex books sure haven't given us any new ideas so far," he teased her.

"As if you need any more ideas," she snorted and then laughed and blushed, remembering some of their steamier encounters.

"I take it that means that you're not bored with me yet?" he grinned and slowly walked backwards to the door.

"You know I'm not now stop wheedling for compliments and get back to work, Dr. Hodgins," she replied, blushing a bit more and exhaling when he was gone, laughing loudly as he walked out into the lab.

When Cam was called to Angela's office minutes later she found Daisy in the room as well, much to her displeasure.

"You have identified him, Angela?" she asked the artist.

"Martin Aragon. 30 years old. Lives in Kingman Park," she nodded.

"His eye surgeon identified him," Daisy couldn't stop herself from interfering.

"He's a scribe," Angela told her.

"I beg your pardon?" Cam paused.

"Seriously, he wrote letters for a living. His, uh, business partner's name is Sophia Mead," Angela let her know and Cam made a mental note that there were still jobs out there that she didn't even know existed.

"I don't like today one bit. This man was on the verge of maybe having his sight returned and Lance's dead friend from the subway just found out he was cured of leukemia," Daisy talked without being asked once again.

"Yeah, it's ironic," Cam commented mainly to shut her up.

"With all due respect, that's not irony. People may think it's irony but it's really just an unfortunate juxtaposition of events," she got lectured by the intern and had to bite her tongue to keep herself from reacting harshly and much stronger than was called for. She wasn't sure what it was about Daisy that rubbed her the wrong way, but she still stood by her statement to Sweets: Daisy transformed her into a raging ball of fury. She couldn't help it.

"Well, guess they're gonna need a shorter word for that," Angela remarked and Cam was thankful for it- it spared her an answer.

Hodgins tried working while the book lay beside him. He tried reading his way up from page three to page 187 without cheating. But he wasn't a strong enough man for it and his curiosity got the best of him after an hour of trying to ignore the dirtiness. Finally he gave in, stopped working on his microscope and took the book.

"Page 187," he said while he flipped through the pages. When he found the page in question he stopped and read. Paused. "Oh, my God," he said then, somewhat between shocked and disbelieving. Quickly he got up, took the book with him and hurried out of his lab, running straight into Cam, who obviously wanted something.

"Hodgins," she called when he kept walking.

"One moment please. Personal privilege, point of order," he excused himself with a smile and walked into Angela's office.

"How's your rat poop?" the artist asked him when she saw him entering.

"Page 187. Mind reading it aloud?" he asked her and placed the book on her desk.

"Page 187? I am not reading the sparky bits to you. You can get somebody else to do that, sicko," she laughed it off.

"Okay, fine. Read it to yourself then," he insisted, took the book again and handed it to her. He waited while she read and until he was sure she had an idea what he would be talking about. "That's that thing that I do. Nobody else does that thing," he told her grinning and leaned against her desk with a smug expression. "It's my thing that I do. Right. It's not a well-known thing. It's, you know, my thing that I do," he kept going on.

"Right, I remember. I was there," she finally said.

"You told Brennan about that thing I do," he stated.

"It's a very good thing," she admitted without saying much more.

"It's my thing. That I do," he pointed out again. "Did you tell her that it was my thing?" he wanted to know then.

"You mean, did I give you credit?" Angela wanted clarification.

"Yes. Did you?"

"No," she admitted.

"Good, 'cause I don't need her looking at me thinking about… that thing I do," he replied.

"Well, that's good then," she said amused.

"But now that thing I do is in print and every guy that reads that book is gonna give it a shot," he added while he walked out of her office and sighed. "Oh, well. You know I got other things that I do. My advice: Only sleep with guys that can't read 'cause otherwise, you'll never be rid of me," he said cockily and left.

"Geez, Hodgins, one day you'll give me a heart attack," Cam complained when he just burst into the bathroom that evening, while she was standing under the shower. Annoyed, she closed the glass door of the shower.

"What? I just walked in. I see no point in waiting when you're just in the shower," he shrugged unimpressed, went to the sink and grabbed his toothbrush.

"Next time I'll lock the door," she grumbled.

"Why? You can pick up that lady shave again, I know you were shaving your legs," he said, his mouth full of foam, and rolled his eyes dramatically.

"No privacy left," she sighed and picked up the razor again. "Don't you think this ruins the romance somewhat?"

"What?" he asked and spit. "That I see you shaving your legs? You've seen me cut my toenails. Isn't that normal?" he went on. "As long as I don't see you shaving off your moustache every morning it doesn't ruin anything for me."

"That's what wax is for," she let him know and he groaned. "What? Too much information? That's too bad," she laughed.

"I can't win with you," he sighed and rinsed and then used a towel to dry his mouth.

"I just like teasing you," she told him and stepped out of the shower, a large white towel wrapped around herself. She dried off and then wandered into the bedroom while he stepped into the shower. She closed the door so the fog wouldn't come into the bedroom. She dressed herself in a slip and a T-shirt and then got into bed, switching on the TV.

She flipped through the channels for a while and just when she heard him get out of the shower she saw the book lying on his nightstand and remembered the talk they had had earlier that day. She leaned over and grabbed it, then flipped it open and tried to remember which page he had talked about. She didn't need long to find it though, because he had left a mark on the edge of the page. Quickly she scanned the page and the scene it contained and her eyes got wide.

"Hey, that's my book," he grinned untroubled when he came out and found her reading Brennan's book. "You're the one who said she doesn't want to read about murder after work."

"I'm not reading about murder. I'm reading page 187," she replied and looked up, closed the book.

"Ah, the sex scene. I should have known," he winked at her and got into bed.

"Is it just me, or does this sound awfully familiar?" she asked him and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Huh?" he feigned innocence.

"The set up, the position, even the finish... That is your thing that you do! No one else ever did this to me before! That is... your thing that only _you _do," she rambled accusingly.

"Angela helped Brennan with the scene," he admitted, but smiled anyway; he was too proud.

"Excuse me?"

"Angela helps Brennan with her books. Brennan doesn't know though that this is my thing that I do," he grinned smugly.

"You realize that we will never ever do this again, right?" she asked him and sounded angry and annoyed.

"Why?" he asked, not understanding why she was upset over this.

"Jack, your ex-girlfriend described a scene from your bedroom and it ended up in a book. I don't want to read that. I don't even want to think about it. And now every time you do anything even remotely similar to it, I will have the picture of you and Angela in my head instead of us making up after our semi- breakup," she said agitated and sat up in bed.

"I didn't know that Angela was telling Brennan about that stuff. And don't tell me that you didn't do stuff before that you have done to me," he replied and tried not to get upset.

"But none of my old lovers wrote a book about it," she said and her voice got that high pitched tone that always gave him a headache just thinking about it.

"Can't you just laugh about it and be happy you've got the original?" he asked her helplessly.

"Laugh about it? I fail to see the humor in it," she replied and lay back down, then turned to her side so her back was facing him. With her hands she hit the pillow until it lay in the right position. "And there's no point in having the original when I can't make use of it anymore," she muttered and then switched off the light on her side.

"Are you seriously mad _at me_ now?" he asked, his mouth hanging open as he couldn't believe it. "This isn't my fault. Complain to Angela or Brennan," he tried to defend himself and held up his hands, which she couldn't see.

"Go to sleep Hodgins," she told him, her voice cold and mad.

"No, I refuse to go to sleep like this," he said and leaned over her so he could look into her face; saw that her eyes were still open.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore," she said quieter and closed her eyes.

"Cam, baby, come on! You're being unfair," he sighed frustrated.

"Maybe. But I can't help it," came the reply with a pout forming on her face.

"Baby, turn around... come on, you know you want to," he coaxed her into rolling onto her other side, so she was looking at him. "There are only three people who know that this is my thing. That's me, you and Angela," he said and Cam raised her eyebrows. "With the others my technique wasn't perfected," he admitted with a smile. "You know you don't need to be jealous of Angela and you know I love you. You'll be the only one I'll be doing _this thing that I do_ to, ok?" he grinned at her and pulled her into his arms and held her tightly against him so she couldn't escape.

"I'm still mad," she grumbled quietly and made him laugh.

"As long as you're mad while lying in my arms, I'm good," he chuckled and placed a kiss on her forehead before he switched off the lights.

The next day Cam was still a bit weirded out by the whole sex scene thing, but she tried to get past it. She knew it wasn't Hodgins fault, but she couldn't help but find it odd that Angela kept using the sex she had with Hodgins as opposed to her other lovers.

"I put together a time line made out of rat poop," Hodgins told her when she arrived at his office to check on his results. He had a large flipchart in his office on which he had placed notes as well as the rat poop.

"And now I'm in a sixth-grade science fair," she remarked dryly, which he just ignored completely.

"The oldest poop, containing human remains, dates from seven days ago. Now, I also found this," he showed her.

"Is that the color that was found on the bones?" she wanted to know.

"Mhm. The same sub-micrometer blue polymer base material. Now, I'm running a scan of companies that manufacture it to see if it's ever been used for ammunition and check this out. Also found this," he went on and showed her something else under the microscope.

"Is that leather?"

"Mhm, it's a piece from the sole of a shoe," he said proudly.

"The victim's?" she asked.

"No. His we matched with DNA. This leather was found in a rat's stomach along with bits of the victim. They were ingested at the same time."

"This could've come from whoever killed Martin Aragon," she nodded appreciatively. "What do you know. King of the lab," she said then and he did a double take, his mouth hanging open when it registered with him what she had just said.

"Wow! That's a first. Usually I have to say it," he said totally surprised.

"Yes, but I wanted to hear how it sounded with a touch of modesty," she told him and then left his office with a smug smile.

"Yeah," he grinned while he watched her walking away and then turned back to his microscope. The smile wouldn't leave his face for a long time.

When Cam was called into Angela's office late that evening she knew that they had most likely found something. Hodgins had been analyzing and working non-stop so he knew something that she didn't- yet.

"We're not done yet," he told her after he and Angela had gone into a lengthy explanation about ammunition. "Now, turning our attention to glass fragments embedded in the back of our victim's head."

"The bullet exited our victim, shattered a glass object behind him before disintegrating," Cam nodded.

"Right. The angle of applied force was 28 degrees. So if I extend the incidence lines, the point of intersection is here. Which means he was standing between 45 and 60 centimeters in front of the glass object when he was shot," Angela gave her the details.

"Okay, then we find that glass and find where he was killed," Cam instructed and once again wanted to leave the office.

"Well, we're still not done," Hodgins stopped her again and Angela pulled up the photograph on the screen.

"Hey! Those are my photographs from when and I went to find the rat poop," Daisy squeaked excitedly and Cam couldn't help herself this time, she had to say something.

"Let's not get emotional, Ms. Wick," she told her dryly, hoping she would keep her mouth shut for the rest of the day.

"Okay, so we need to find glass fixtures that contain borosilicate. We find that here," Hodgins went on.

"Now, I scanned for color frequencies on the wall where the bullet would have disintegrated. The blue polymer emits about 420 nanomers," Angela explained.

"You found where he was murdered," their boss said approvingly, although she didn't like the thought that they had worked together.

"He was lured into this tunnel and was shot," Hodgins summed it up again.

"Let the record show that my photographs were invaluable to the process," Daisy commented and Cam clenched her fists, dropped her head and closed her eyes. Internally she slowly counted backwards from fifteen, hoping she'd have herself under control again once she was done. "There's no record, is there?" the intern then asked disappointedly and made all look at her, except for her bosses boss.

"Are we done then?" Cam asked and looked around. When Angela shrugged and then nodded Cam fled from the room and marched back into her own office, unaware that Hodgins was following her.

"We're going home now or you still have something to do?" he asked her and made her jump slightly.

"Uhm, I still have to look through the reports and sign them," she replied.

"Ok, then just come over when you're done," he grinned and left again, leaving Cam alone with her thoughts.

"Which bag?" Hodgins asked and held up a lacy bra later that evening.

"The blue one," Cam replied and pointed to the bag that contained the extra sensitive laundry.

"How many times does Michelle change her shirt a day? There are at least fifteen shirts from just her," he complained and put them into the laundry bags according to color.

"She's a teenager Jack, it's normal," Cam laughed.

"No, seriously, this is only half of the stuff she throws into the laundry basket. There's also stuff at my place. That's crazy," he insisted.

"You know you don't have to do laundry over here," she just smiled and kept hanging up the wet clothes.

"I have stuff here as well. And you do my laundry at my place, so it's only fair I help you here," he shrugged.

"I do your laundry because you keep throwing dirty clothes on the bathroom floor and it's driving me crazy. I can't let them lay there until your cleaning lady cleans up your mess twice a week," Cam lectured him.

"Your laundry, my laundry... when are you moving in?" he asked her.

"As soon as possible, but I don't know when I'll find the time to pack my stuff. There's the huge investors meeting coming up. Maybe once the school year is over?" she asked him and shook out a pair of jeans.

"We have that at the end of March and the term ends in June. No way are we waiting another three months. I asked you in January to move in with me," he kept complaining.

"We can't move all of our stuff into your house in one weekend. And then I have to find someone to rent my condo," she told him rationally.

"You don't need to worry about renting it out, we'll find someone. But what about me? Are you really planning on leaving me alone in my house for another three months?" he pouted. "You're cruel."

"Maybe I should think about moving in with you, if you're so good at emotional blackmail," she shot back without sympathy and turned back to the wet clothes. Suddenly she shrieked and then laughed, when Hodgins grabbed her around the waist and tickled her.

"I'll get you to do as I want... really soon," he threatened over her shrieks and laughter. When he finally let go of her Cam was gasping for air and had to steady herself by holding on to his shoulders.

"We'll sit down later with Michelle and see when we all have time. Maybe I could just give us some days off. You have accumulated overtime hours?" she asked him.

"More than enough. I could probably stay home a whole year with those hours alone," he laughed.

"Crazy squints," Cam teased him and quickly kissed him before he could tickle her again.

"Mmh, how about we forget the laundry and test your bed instead? Maybe it's better than mine and should come when you move in," he grinned and held her close.

"How about we just get a new bed. New start for both of us, new bed?" she asked him.

"I'd like that," he nodded and just held her for a while. Simply because it felt good- just as it felt good to plan a future together. _Such a nice change from that day to day crap_, he thought. _I so don't envy Wendell._

**TBC**


	17. Chapter 17

I couldn't help myself I had to write to relax some while I should have been studying.

* * *

**Chapter 17: Friends and strawberries**

"Ha! I win!" Hodgins grinned proudly and held his hand out in Cam's direction, prompting her to hand over the Monopoly money she owed him. "Come on, pay up and hand over the street cards," he went on tauntingly. His forehead wrinkled in confusion when Cam reached behind her and pulled out some money that she had hidden underneath a pillow a while ago, when she still had had more money than him and Michelle.

"Sorry, honey," she grinned right back at him and handed him some bills before she put the rest of the money down beside the board where it belonged.

"You have a secret stash of money? Isn't that against the rules or something?" he asked and turned to Michelle seeking help. The teen was lying on the couch, playing with her phone and grinned when she heard them bickering. She had been kicked out of the game a while ago.

"As far as I remember I didn't read anything about where you have to put your money," she shook her head.

"Your turn," Cam told him and pushed the dice in his direction. Most streets belonged to her and so far he had only been lucky because she had landed two times in a row on streets he had already built hotels on. Still muttering under his breath he rolled the dice and winced when he saw the number.

"Boardwalk!" Cam laughed when he landed on the most expensive street where she had already set a hotel on. "Pay up bucko!" she said this time and held out her hand the same way he had done before.

"I'm so screwed," he muttered, because he knew that it would cost him nearly all of his money.

"I'm sure Cam would accept real money once you're out of fake bills. Paying the sum from your private account shouldn't be a problem," Michelle teased him from the couch.

"Remind me to call the contractor tomorrow and tell him that he doesn't have to come, because I'm bankrupt and lost all of my money to you," he said to Cam, who only laughed. The contractor was simply coming so the changes that needed to be done to the rooms that would soon be Michelle's could be worked on before they moved in.

"Considering that the house would be mine as well then, I don't think you should spend your last cents on a phone call," she stage whispered back at him and pulled him close for a quick kiss.

"Speaking of phone call: Did Perry call?" Michelle asked them and sat up.

"No, not that I know of," Cam said and Hodgins shook his head as well.

"He said he'd call. They should have landed over an hour ago and he still hasn't called," the teen complained.

"Maybe his plane got delayed," Hodgins shrugged.

"He could have called anyway," Michelle insisted.

"Young love," he sighed exaggeratedly to tease her.

"You really want me to comment on that?" she deadpanned and raised her eyebrows, making Cam laugh again.

"You're not helping," he accused her and pointed at her, but then had to laugh with her. "Your turn," he reminded her, motioning to the dice on the floor beside the board and kissed her again before handing it to her. Before she could roll it though the door bell rang.

"Who the hell is that?" Hodgins asked and checked his watch, pretty sure it was already really late and beyond the time that it was acceptable to stop by unannounced.

"If it's anyone with the last name Saroyan I officially give permission to shoot. Pure self-defense," Cam said while he got up and walked to the front door to check who was intruding so late on a Friday night.

"No, the last name is Booth. Permission to shoot anyway?" he asked her and had already pressed the button to open the gate.

"If Seeley's here this late something is wrong," Cam replied as she came up to him looking worried.

"Don't know if I wish it's work related or not," Hodgins said and wrapped an arm around her shoulders while they both walked to the front door.

"I hope it's nothing health related," Cam replied and felt Hodgins place a kiss on her temple to calm her a bit, before he opened the door.

"Can't get rid of you, man," Hodgins sighed exaggeratedly when he saw the FBI agent and tried to lighten the mood.

"Sorry, I just... can I talk to you?" Booth asked Cam uncharacteristically nervous, all his usual cockiness gone.

"Sure, but first come in," Cam nodded and stepped aside to let him in, Hodgins arm still wrapped around her. She gave his waist a squeeze before they both followed Booth inside and closed the door.

"This is not a house Hodgins, it's a palace," Booth said, turning around, taking in the entry way.

"You want a tour?" Cam asked him.

"Maybe later," he said and looked around uncomfortably, making it obvious that he wouldn't talk while Hodgins was still around. His perception of him had gotten better since he and Cam were back together and he saw she was happy, but they still weren't exactly best buddies.

"I'll help Michelle clean up the living-room. You can go into the study if you want," Hodgins told Cam as the silence once again spread.

"Thanks, Jack," she smiled slightly and pecked his lips.

"You want a beer?" Hodgins asked before he walked away and left the two in the hallway.

"No, thanks," Booth shook his head and followed Cam into the study. She switched on the light in the dark room and he firmly closed the door behind them. Without asking she walked to the bar that was hidden in a cupboard and took out a bottle of whiskey. She poured both of them a drink and handed one glass to him before she sat down in one of the big armchairs.

"Figured you could use something stronger. Usually we have these talks in a bar and get pretty wasted," she said with a small smile as he sat down in the armchair opposite of her.

"How do you know it's gonna be one of those talks?" he asked her, mirroring her small smile.

"I know you Seeley. Now spill it," she told him and handed him the bottle with booze when he emptied his glass with one gulp. He refilled it, swirled the liquid around watching it and then emptied it again.

"Bones and I saw Sweets today to talk about his book and his conclusions," he started while he refilled the glass once again. Cam waited, just looked at him and knew he would speak again when he knew what to say and how to say it. "His conclusion was based on the fact that the Eller case was the first time we worked together," he went on after another drink.

"I think you worked together before that, didn't you?" Cam asked and tried to remember the exact details of the case, but couldn't even come up with the victim's name. She hadn't been involved in it and only knew about it from Seeley. "Wasn't that when you finally got that judge?" she finally remembered.

"Yeah, it was," he nodded. "Did I ever tell you what happened between Bones and me back then?" he asked her.

"Not with so many words, but your behavior suggested that something happened," she grinned suggestively.

"We didn't sleep together," he defended himself and tried to destroy the suspicion she had. "We... kissed," he admitted though.

"And?" she wanted to know.

"And nothing. We started fighting and missed our moment," he said, pouring himself yet another drink.

"I don't think something that happened that long ago made you come here tonight and down the booze," she concluded and waited for him to fill the blanks.

"Sweets said that one of us had to make the first move. I'm the gambler so I did it. I kissed her outside the office and told her that I wanna be with her," he sounded slightly desperate and his tongue started to get heavy with all the alcohol he had consumed so quickly.

"And she told you off," Cam nodded and closed her eyes, knowing that he must be devastated.

"She said that she can't change and won't be able to give me what I want. I really thought we were ready for the next step," Booth said sadly. "She says that I'm the one who needs protection," he added as an afterthought.

"She doesn't want to break your heart. I think that means that she cares a lot about you," Cam said to offer some solace, but there really wasn't any.

"And what does that get me? She doesn't want to be with me. Whether it's because of her lacking feelings for me or because she doesn't want to break my heart in the future doesn't make a difference for me," he replied sadly and raised his eyebrows when Cam took the liquor bottle from him after he had poured himself yet another drink.

"Will you still be able to work together?" she asked and ignored his look and put the bottle back in the liquor cabinet.

"We've always been able to work together. And we didn't fight," he shrugged and placed his empty glass on the table in front of him.

"What kind of deal did you two make then? Try again in a year? Sit it out and wait until she changes her mind? Or will you try to convince her?" Cam asked as she sat back down.

"None of the above. I told her that I can't wait anymore," he shook his head as he said it to emphasize the fact that he just couldn't do it anymore.

"You're sure?" she asked disbelievingly, because in her opinion they were made for each other. Sure, she and Seeley had had fun, but even back then she had been able to see that he was in love with the pretty doctor.

"I don't want to be alone anymore and wait for her while I keep watching her date meaningless other guys. I tried it, I know now for sure that there is no point in waiting any longer. I just… I have to try and find someone else to fall in love with, marry, have a family," he didn't sound too convinced himself.

"You know I just want you to be happy with whomever that might be," she replied with a small smile, that was far from amused and more sympathetic.

"I know," he said and for a few moments there was silence. "Are you happy?" he asked her then. She didn't even need to think about it.

"I am," she nodded. "Very."

"I was worried about you for a while. Around Christmas. My gut told me something was off," he slurred even more now.

"Jack and I are ok now," she just said.

"You don't want to tell me what was wrong?" he sounded offended.

"Another time, Seeley. Right now you're drunk and probably won't remember anything I tell you tomorrow.

"I think you and Hodgins are good for each other, as weird as it still is for me to admit that. I hope he knows how lucky he is," Booth sighed.

"You can tell him once you're sober again," she laughed.

"I will," he nodded emphatically. "I should go now," he said then.

"You can't drive anymore," Cam shook her head when she saw how much he swayed when he got up. "I'll get a room ready for you," she added and was a bit surprised when he didn't even protest.

"I'm not tired yet," he piped up when she led him to the stairs.

"Ok, fine, then let's see what the other two are up to," she agreed and led him to the living room instead. When she pushed the door open she found Hodgins and Michelle standing in front of the TV in a familiar way. "Oh boy," she muttered when she saw them, knowing they were engaged in one of their video game competitions again.

"Wow, Guitar Hero, I love that game!" Booth exclaimed and stumbled over towards them.

"Dude, you're way too drunk to play," Hodgins laughed when he saw the FBI agent coming up next to him.

"I can beat you when I'm drunk _and _asleep," Booth huffed and grabbed for the plastic guitar that Hodgins held out of reach. "And I'm still armed," Booth growled and grabbed for it again.

"Man he's even more dangerous when he's drunk," Hodgins shook his head and handed the plastic guitar to the agent.

"Hit the button, Michelle," Seeley grinned and started playing with the teen while Hodgins walked over to Cam and sat down beside her on the couch and wrapped one arm around her shoulders pulling her close.

"Is he ok?" Hodgins asked Cam quietly, his breath tickling her skin as he whispered in her ear.

"I think he will be, but it might take a while," she replied and laced her fingers through his.

"He's staying here tonight?" he wanted to know next.

"Yes, I'm gonna go and get a guest room ready for him," she confirmed.

"You know where to find the sheets," Jack said and let her get up. "Looks like I'm still the guitar hero here, guys," he teased Booth and Michelle then and got up and joined them again.

* * *

"All done?" Cam asked Jack when he came into their bedroom later that night.

"Yeah, I threw Booth on the bed and then cleaned up the living room. Your daughter is messy," he reported and lay down beside her. And your friend Seeley kept telling me that I should be grateful that you love me," he said and raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"He and Brennan talked to Sweets today about his book and it brought up some old issues between them," she replied cryptically.

"He loves her, doesn't he?" he asked, but it sounded more like a statement. He rolled onto his side so he could see her better, mirroring her position.

"Yeah, but she's scared," she confirmed, now that he'd admitted that he already knew part of it anyway.

"I'm really happy we worked things out. Wouldn't want to trade places with the poor fool," Jack smiled, cupped her cheek with his hand and stroked his fingers over her skin.

"It saddens me to see him like this. It's been a while since I saw him happy and in love… actually I've never seen him that crazy for any woman," Cam mused and turned her head, pressing her lips against his palm for a moment.

"By the way: Perry called while you were talking to Booth. Means we can make plans alone tomorrow," he let her know.

"Did she kick his ass for not calling?" Cam grinned.

"I don't know what he told her, but her anger vanished quickly. You wouldn't have been as forgiving," he teased her with a smile and let his hand wander through her hair.

"No way, it's nice to have you begging for forgiveness," she chuckled and moved closer to him.

"Right back at ya," he laughed as well, rolled over and switched off the lights, before he turned back towards her and pulled her even closer to him.

"You have any ideas about what we could do with our day tomorrow?" she asked him in the darkness.

"First we have to get rid of our houseguest and Michelle," he pointed out.

"It's been a while since we used your pool and hot tub," Cam told him.

"Relax and then go to dinner at night? There's this new Spanish restaurant in the neighborhood," Hodgins asked.

"Sounds great. Good night Jack," she nodded against his chest and then leaned up and pecked his lips.

"G'night Cam," he replied, closed his eyes and loosened his grip on her a bit so she could sleep more comfortably.

* * *

"Look who finally fell out of bed," Michelle laughed when she saw Booth walking out on the patio, blinking against the sun and rubbing his aching head.

"God, why does it have to be sunny today?" Booth groaned in reply and sat down on an empty chair at the breakfast table.

"I'll get you a cup and a plate," Hodgins chuckled when he saw his face and got up.

"Add some Tylenol and a glass of water to that," Cam smiled knowingly.

"Duly noted. Anything else?" he asked.

"You could bring out the honey, now that you're asking," she said after thinking about it for a second.

"Sure," he nodded and leaned down to fetch a kiss in advance.

"Can you stop being like this? I'm already sick enough without having to watch you kiss the bug man," Booth grumbled when Cam deepened the kiss for a second.

Before Cam could reply Michelle looked up from her cereal. "Can we pretend that airplanes  
in the night sky are like shooting stars? I could really use a wish right now..." she sang.

"Smart ass," Cam commented, Hodgins rolled his eyes and Booth laughed out loud for the first time since he had set foot into Sweets office the day before. "Is Perry coming over today? she asked then.

"He's picking me up later and we're going to the movies," Michelle said.

"And you? You wanna stay here today?" Cam turned her attention to Booth.

"And do what?" he wrinkled his forehead.

"Hodgins has an indoor pool and a steam bath in the basement," she shrugged.

"And soon that will all be mine," Michelle grinned smugly.

"What was that song about a wish?" Cam asked her pointedly.

"You plan on killing them?" Booth asked the teen.

"No, didn't Cam tell you that we're gonna move in?" Michelle replied.

"That doesn't mean that you own anything, just to make that clear," Cam insisted.

"He owns more houses than are good for him. He could just give me one. A small one," Michelle pouted jokingly. "He wouldn't even notice."

"I will give you the tool shed for your next birthday," Hodgins commented when he came out at that moment. "You would have your own house, a really small one and we could save the money for the construction work on the penthouse," he teased her.

"We could spend it on the new bedroom furniture we were talking about," Cam nodded in agreement.

"I hate it when you two gang up on me. It sucks," the teen pouted again.

"Try working when they keep making out in the office," Booth huffed.

"You think they're better here?" Michelle shot back.

"Jack, why don't we just kick those two nigglers out and enjoy a nice quiet weekend?" Cam turned to Hodgins.

"Sounds great. And we could make out wherever we want and how much we want," he agreed and ducked when Michelle threw a piece of her bagel in his direction.

"Ew!"

"Missy, I've had enough now," Hodgins said seriously as he wiped the bagel crumbs off his face and slowly got up. "First you cheat in video games, then you try to slowly take over my money, then you annoy us and as the last straw you start throwing bagels?" he stopped in front of her. Michelle was looking at him wide eyed, not sure if he was really annoyed with her now. She looked over to Cam, but her mother's face didn't give her any hint if Hodgins was joking or not. She was just about to open her mouth to apologize, when he suddenly grabbed her, pulled her off her chair and before she knew what was happening she found herself in the ice cold pool, still dressed in her pajamas. "You need some cooling off," Hodgins grinned and marched back to the breakfast table, where Cam was hunched over with laughter, while Michelle stood in the pool, unable to close her mouth.

"Good call bug man. I will remember that one for Parker," Booth grinned and the three adults resumed their breakfast while Michelle climbed out of the pool, already plotting how she could get her revenge.

* * *

That afternoon, sometime after Michelle had left, the two men lay on their deck chairs around Hodgins indoor pool with closed eyes and relaxed. The third chair was empty and the radio played in the background, informing them of the newest basketball scores.

"Guys, if you think I'm your personal maid for the day you're mistaken. Get your asses out of the chairs and clean up this mess," Cam lectured when she came in the room again, carrying three cans of beer. The time she had been upstairs doing laundry and getting herself something to drink had been enough for the guys to empty a bag of chips, leave crumbs everywhere between their chairs and throw the empty beer cans on the ground.

"Urgh," Hodgins only groaned, while Booth didn't even react and pretended to sleep.

"Now!" she used her don't-mess-with-me-voice.

"You're ruining our relaxing time," Hodgins muttered but got up and started cleaning up.

"You have no idea how much your relaxing time will be ruined if I step on wet chip crumbs," she replied darkly, then glared at her friend. "Seeley!" she barked and he finally opened one eye at least.

"I'm the guest," he shrugged and tried to use his charm smile on her.

"Don't even bother trying to charm your way out of this. It's been a while since that worked," Cam replied and sat down in her own chair, careful not to step into the mess on the ground.

"Good old times," the agent sighed with a smile that showed for once his comment wasn't referring to PG related memories only. That didn't slip Hodgins attention.

"Clean up," he barked and pushed the rubber trekker in Booths direction, nearly hitting him in the head with it. "I don't wanna see that smile on his face ever again, when he's thinking about you," he quietly told Cam and leaned over her when she lay down on her chair.

"You'd rather have him write a book about it?" she grinned overly sweet and opened her eyes again to see his reaction to her strike back. She still wasn't over the whole Angela-book- sex scene thing.

"You're mine," he growled and stroked his index finger over the exposed skin of her stomach, grinned when he made her shiver in reaction.

"You're going all caveman on me again?" she smiled, this time a real smile and didn't try to hide from him how much his behavior excited her.

"When you're jealous it's always natural and understandable. When I get jealous you accuse me of being a caveman," he replied and placed his palm on her upper thigh.

"Who said the caveman thing was a bad thing?" she grinned and raised her eyebrows.

"Ok, the caveman me says we're going swimming now," he smiled and picked her up. She didn't protest when he carried her to the water and then used the wide stairs to slowly walk into it with her still in his arms. She slung her arms around his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist as soon as they were in the water and his lips descended on hers.

Booth had watched their exchange while he had cleaned the floor and pushed the water and the crumbs into the drain on the other side of the room. He lay back down on his chair and couldn't help but watch them, when Hodgins carried her into the water and how tenderly Cam kissed him once they were in the pool. They swam side by side and never missed an opportunity to splash the other one with water or steal a kiss. Even his trained sniper eyes and ears couldn't make out what they were talking about so quietly as it was drowned out by the sounds of the water and the radio that still played in the background.

He felt jealous and happy at the same time while he watched them. He wanted what they had with Bones- his Bones. And he was happy for his friend that she had found someone who was obviously good for her. In the beginning he had thought that Cam would be too bossy for Hodgins, the guy who had bent and stretched to every wish Angela had ever had. And even though he had just witnessed bossy Cam around her boyfriend, he knew watching them that they were equals and that Hodgins must have found a way to get her to trust him completely.

She seemed softer when she was around him and let her guard down completely. It was nice to see, because he had never witnessed it before. In all the years he had known her he had never seen her allow someone to watch her back. She could be relaxed because she knew that Hodgins would protect her from whatever would come their way. Although he had stated earlier that they made out at the lab, he knew it wasn't true. They were really professional at the Jeffersonian and he had rarely had the opportunity to watch them together outside the lab.

They got out of the water and walked back towards him and he didn't make an attempt to hide that he had been watching them. Hodgins handed Cam a large towel and used the other one for himself. He sat down on his chair while Cam was still rubbing herself dry. Without speaking a word he next handed her a brush so she could comb out her long hair and exchanged the now wet towel on her chair with a dry one. She thanked him with a small smile, handed him the brush back and spread out the dry towel on her chair before she lay down. There was a routine and an understanding in their actions that left Booth a bit stunned. How long had they been together again?

"We just talked about tonight and we thought it would be nice to go out. How about you come along and we hit the sports bar, watch the hockey game tonight, eat steak and fries and hang out?" Hodgins asked him and Booth nearly regretted it that their display of silent communication had come to an end.

"I don't know," he said uneasily, not sure how much of this was Cam talking Hodgins into providing a distraction for him.

"Oh come on! I need someone to actually talk to while Cam is drooling over the players," Hodgins groaned and Cam playfully slapped his arm.

"Where do you want to watch it?" Booth asked, admitting to himself that it didn't sound too bad.

"Papa Joe's," Hodgins replied and Booth nodded approvingly. "Speaking of Papa: Think we should ask your dad to come along?" Hodgins turned to Cam.

"Why would you say that? Are you nuts?" she gasped shocked and Booth started laughing.

"We haven't heard from him in... a few days and I have this feeling that he might show up unexpectedly again if we don't take care of it beforehand," Hodgins defended himself.

"I made myself clear the last time that I don't want to see them for at least a year," Cam huffed. "My head hurts just thinking about dealing with one of them."

"They started popping up again?" Booth grinned.

"Oh yeah, even dumped their kids on our doorstep and tried to talk Jack into giving them money," Cam replied.

"So you got the Saroyan seal of approval?" Seeley asked Hodgins.

"Kind of. Tallulah wants me to marry her," he laughed.

"Tallulah is the youngest one, right?" Booth tried to remember.

"Not young enough not to fall in love with Hodgins," Cam laughed.

"Oh Parker asked me a while ago when you'd stop by again. Seems like you have your own little friend," Seeley told Cam.

"Send him over whenever he likes. I'm sure we'll come up with something to do for him," Cam nodded and softly nudged Hodgins to make it clear that she was talking about the two of them.

"I'm in. Would give me the opportunity to see you actually participate in a manly ballgame… in heels," he grinned.

"With all these kids suddenly popping into our life I'm sure I'll be able to tackle you sometime soon," Cam laughed.

"All these kids… maybe that's a sign," Booth said only for his own fun, wanting to see the panic written all over Cam's face when thinking about having her own kid. His mouth fell open though when he saw the look that passed between Hodgins and Cam.

"Maybe," the bug man only grinned while Cam shrugged and gave him a small smile. Booth was too stunned to say anything and then they all fell into an easy silence again. Cam started reading a book, Hodgins contented himself playing with her fingers with one hand while she did so and Booth watched them from time to time, hoping he would have what they had soon enough.

* * *

The next week Cam and Hodgins were back at the lab and Brennan and Booth had sent over a body from Illinois where they had been called to. Brennan was talking to the team from her hotel room via video feed and Wendell was unpacking the remains.

"The Butcher of Burtonsville?" the intern asked.

"That's what we called him," Brennan confirmed.

"Insect activity puts time of death at approximately 10 days ago," Hodgins let them know after taking a look.

"You should swab the dismemberment points - there could be trace evidence from the blade," Cam told him while she walked past him so close that he could smell not only her perfume, but also the scent of her hair- which was more than a pleasant surprise considering there was a rotting corpse not too far away.

"You know, you get very bossy when you don't have flesh to play with," he smirked at her, always happy to tease her a bit and flirt with her when he could without being inappropriate at the lab.

"I am the boss," she let him know with a smirk of her own.

"And he removed his victims' ribs because..." Wendell turned back to Brennan.

"He eats them. Barbecue," the anthropologist stated.

"You don't actually believe that," Cam exclaimed.

"There's no evidence of cannibalism. It's merely an urban legend," Bones said luckily.

"But they never found OUT who killed the girl in your class?" Hodgins wanted to know, intrigued already by yet another mystery that could be spun into his conspiracy theories.

"No. Sarah Tidwyler. Booth is getting the old case files to find links," Brennan replied.

"The stumps on the victims 4th and 5th ribs show evidence of hemorrhagic staining," the intern provided.

"So two ribs weren't sawed off," Cam concluded.

"Fractured and then snapped off it appears," Brennan confirmed when Angela came onto the platform.

"So, your high school is famous, Sweetie. The earliest reported mention of The Butcher of Burtonsville was in 1956. Young people were warned to avoid secluded locations at night, as there was a lunatic who killed and dismembered his victims, then barbecued and ate their ribs," she knew.

"Yet, until Sarah's murder it was just an urban legend - society's attempt to control behavior through a fear-based myth," Brennan said.

"This is very teenage slasher movie-ish," Hodgins said and was getting excited about it.

"Whatever blade was used left very clean and precise cuts," his colleague said in approval and Cam shook her head slightly.

"It's always a tad creepy when you admire the killer's handiwork," she told Brennan, but threw Hodgins a disapproving glance just for good measure.

* * *

"There appear to be some metal flakes embedded in the margins of the bone," Wendell told Hodgins later that day when he came into his lab with a tray.

"Ooh. Come to the king," he was instantly excited.

"Man. Social pressures, sports, sexual psychodramas; I'm surprised there aren't more murders in high school," the intern got comfortable, obviously wanting to chat for a while.

"Your high school sounds a lot more exciting than mine," Hodgins replied, thinking back to the boring boarding school he had spent his time at.

"Pretty tough place. A lot of violence, lot of drugs, lot of pregnancies," Wendell nodded.

"So you've been through the 'babydaddy' scare before?" Hodgins asked without thinking about it.

"Before? Before what?" Wendell asked and Hodgins realized that obviously Angela had once again kept some important info to herself. She still wasn't communicating in a relationship. It had slipped his mind and he internally slapped himself for assuming that Angela and Wendell had gone through the same progression as him and Cam and were openly talking about everything in their relationship.

"Oh, no..." he groaned when he realized his mistake. A second later Wendell left heading in the direction of Angela's office and Hodgins quickly followed him.

"Oooh. Ugh," he made and hurried past the intern, jogging through the lab.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I had no idea you hadn't told him. Big mouth and I am sorry," he said in a rush when he reached Angela's office and found her working on some sketch.

"Big mouth what?" she didn't understand what he was talking about. However when Wendell entered and looked upset she realized what Hodgins was apologizing for.

"Oh. Oh," she only said, staring at the two men in her office.

"You were pregnant?" Wendell blurted out and Hodgins turned to leave, running into the intern who was blocking his way.

"I was gonna... leave but you're kinda in my - you know, I'm gonna go around..," he stuttered, walked around Wendell and left the two alone in Angela's office. He walked back into his own lab and tried to work, but found he couldn't. His mind kept drifting to his mishap and he knew it wouldn't get better until he talked about it.

"You have a moment?" he asked Cam when he walked into her room.

"Sure, what's going on?" she asked him and looked up from her screen when he leaned against her desk, standing next to her.

"I didn't think and didn't keep my big mouth shut. I told Wendell about Angela's pregnancy scare," he admitted and sheepishly scratched his neck.

"She hadn't told him yet?" Cam asked astounded.

"I'm so glad you're saying this!" he sighed relieved. "It's not normal, right?" he wanted confirmation that he hadn't been stupid for assuming that Angela had told Wendell.

"I don't think it's normal, but then again it's Angela and she's anything but conventional. And I guess it's still her thing who she tells and who she doesn't," Cam shrugged.

"I didn't even think about it. I had said it before I even considered that she hadn't told him," he justified his mishap.

"Angela never asked you to keep your mouth shut did she?" Cam asked. "I assumed she told him as well."

"No, she never did. Actually when she told me she said that Wendell would be the next to know." He was slowly calming down, his voice getting calmer and the words not spilling out of his mouth as fast anymore.

"How did he react?"

"He went to Angela to talk to her. I told her I was sorry, but I don't know how she'll get out of this," he reported and then sighed deeply. "Will you help me flee if she comes after me?" he asked her.

"Always," Cam chuckled and glanced to her screen when she saw an email coming in.

"I'll let you get back to work then," he said and stood up straight, pushing himself away from her desk.

"We're on for lunch?" she asked him before he left.

"Sure," he nodded. "Any ideas?"

"I'd like to just grab some fruit over at the market. Haven't had that in a while," she suggested, knowing that he loved the fruit salad snacks just as much as she did.

"K, we can sit out at the park. It's nice out," he nodded and gave her a small wave when he saw her glancing nervously at her screen again. "Don't be late," he said with a wink.

"Pick me up at noon," she smiled at him and returned the wave when he left.

* * *

"I get your strawberries you get my blueberries?" Cam asked glancing at the red fruit in his cup longingly. She had already eaten hers, but she could never get enough of them, even if it meant sacrificing her blueberries.

"Your blueberries plus that one apple slice you have left," he replied.

"You're ripping me off!" she protested, then glanced at the strawberries again with a pout. "Fine," she finally muttered and held out the plastic cup to him so he could take out the apple slice. Just as he took it out her cell phone started ringing and with a groan she placed her fruit snack between them on the bench and picked up the call.

"Not fair calling my private cell just because I'm on my lunchbreak, Booth," she said as a greeting.

"It's a private call so I thought I'd call your private number," he replied.

"So why are you calling?" she asked and slapped Hodgins hand when he tried to steal her pineapple as well.

"You're in a hurry?" he asked her teasingly, speaking especially slowly.

"Jack is stealing my lunch," she complained and even to her own ears it sounded like whining.

"So, shoot him," Booth joked.

"I would, but then again I usually kind of like him," Cam said and glanced down to where her fruit had been and found the cup nearly empty. "Although at the moment not so much," she added darkly when she saw it. Hodgins only reacted by demonstratively eating one of his strawberries, making sure she saw it.

"Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you for the weekend," Booth changed the topic and pulled Cam back into the conversation.

"You know that you don't need to thank me for that," Cam replied. "How is it going now? Must be weird," she said referring to them being away together after what had happened.

"It's fine. We have separate rooms this time, that helps. And we've both kept our distance so far. Then again we are officially married when it comes to Bones classmates," he sighed.

"Call when you need someone to talk to," Cam told him and suddenly gasped when she saw that her fruits were all gone and all that was left was an empty plastic container.

"You're ok?" Booth wanted to know, wondering what those two were doing.

"He ate my fruit!" she exclaimed loudly and he had to hold the phone away from his ear.

"You remember that one spot I once told you about on the hand?" Booth asked her and Cam grinned.

"Oh yeah, I do. Thank you for reminding me," she grinned evilly at Hodgins so he knew that something was coming his way.

"Then I'll let you go so you can torture the bug man. Bye Cam," Booth said and hung up.

"Don't look at me like that! I'm not sleeping on the couch for eating some fruit," Hodgins laughed and held up his hands.

"That wouldn't be painful enough," she said darkly.

"Do you really think I would do that to you and eat your lunch?" he asked her then, giving her puppy eyes.

"Why are you even asking? I just saw you doing exactly that," she exclaimed.

"No, you saw me sacrificing myself by eating those last pieces of fruit, so you would still have room left," he paused and pulled another plastic cup out of the brown bag. "To eat these delicious strawberries that I bought for you earlier when you vanished into the shoe store," he laughed when he saw her eyes widen.

"God, I love you!" she sighed and kissed him deeply before she took the fruit from him and started eating.

"I have one more cup, but those will be for tonight, when we're alone," he winked at her. She kissed him in reply and the taste of strawberries on her lips gave him an idea about what awaited him.

* * *

After the lunch break Cam went on her usual round to see what the others had come up with.

"This is a cross section of the victims distal femur. As you can see, the kerf wall is smooth - indicating whatever blade was used, the size of its teeth were small," Wendell told her out on the platform.

"But it did have teeth, so we're looking for a saw of some type," she thought out loud.

"Judging by the bone loss from the cuts, a saw blade about 2 mm thick, I can't determine what type of blade yet, though," the intern confirmed.

"Let me know when you can," she told him and was about to leave when Hodgins came onto the platform, waving a report around.

"Whoa, hold on. Show and tell is not over yet," he started "So, we have got two particulates transferred during dismemberment - it's a pretty messy process, well, with all that blood spurting and muscles and sinews tearing...," he told her and she knew she had to stop him.

"Okay, we get it. What did you find?" she interrupted him.

"Well, after much effort - and expertise - I found calcium sulfate and flecks of 3003-H14 aluminum," he finally spit out.

"How are either of those, in any way, cooler than discovering the saw?" Wendell asked him challengingly.

"I'll let Dr. Brennan know that we are looking for a saw which can cut through metal. And you don't have to fight, you both did well," she told them before they could really start competing. Then she turned around and left them alone. "I run a kindergarten," she muttered to herself.

* * *

Later the same day, after they had found out how the victim had been killed Hodgins and Wendell were taking a coffee break together, knowing it would be a long day at the lab. Brennan and Booth had yet to go to the reunion and they were all waiting for news on how that would go. However at the moment Wendell had other problems, considering he had just told Hodgins that he and Angela had broken up.

"It's none of my business if you broke up with Angela," Hodgins said. He couldn't shake off the feeling that he was somehow still involved in all of this, although he was with Cam. Ever since Cam had mentioned that she thought that Angela tried seeking him out alone, he had paid more attention and had to admit that she might have a point. So just to make it clear he refused to take any blame in the break up between Angela and Wendell.

"It's your business because we're friends and it's kinda a big deal for me," Wendell pointed out though and he had to admit that he was right if you looked at it from that angle.

"Oh. Yeah. Right. Uh, I'm sorry. Of course. You know what? You - you need to - you need to go out. And get drunk, you know. Pick a fight. Steal a car. Come on. I got your back," he advised, not really knowing what to say.

"What I need is for you to know that I did my best, concerning Angela," the intern said honestly.

"Yeah. I know that already," Hodgins agreed.

"I haven't told you about it," Wendell sounded surprised.

"You don't have to; I know you," Hodgins said and moved over to the railing overlooking the platform.

"Someday, maybe we can talk about what kind of woman Angela is," the intern said carefully.

"Someday, yeah," Hodgins agreed with a smile. The kid needed some time however before they could do that in all honesty.

"I guess, somewhere I always knew she was just on loan," Wendell went on wistfully and Hodgins tried not to react. He wasn't sure if Wendell was implying what he thought he was implying.

"She is awesome, isn't she," he said instead, not wanting to go into the dirty details of Angela's commitment problem.

"It was totally worth it, man. I mean...," Wendell agreed.

"I know," Hodgins said and thought about his time with Angela. He didn't regret it, he never would and in the end he had somehow got Cam. That was all he cared for.

"I know you know," Wendell said and when he looked over he saw a smile forming on Hodgins face. He followed his look, nearly expecting to see Angela, but found Cam leaving her office instead. She seemed to feel their eyes on herself and looked up, smiled back at Hodgins without even realizing it. She changed her route and came up the stairs instead of going out to the elevator.

"Hey, you two. Nothing to do?" she greeted them.

"Just stopping for a short coffee break so we won't fall asleep later," Hodgins replied and showed her his mug. She stepped closer to him and took it from him, then sipped before she handed it back. Wendell watched them with interest. It had been a while since he had seen them together in a situation that wasn't work related. They were standing closer to each other than would be appropriate for a boss and co-worker situation and it seemed normal for them when she stole his mug and gave it back. Hodgins didn't even protest or react other than taking it back when she was done.

"I have a meeting in fifteen minutes, but I don't think it'll take too long," she told them and turned around to lean her arms against the railing beside Hodgins.

"Then we'll wait for and Booth to call from the reunion, see if something happens there?" Wendell asked.

"Yeah, but we'll push paperwork to tomorrow. Will take a while anyway," Cam nodded.

"Did you already call Michelle and tell her we won't be home for dinner?" Hodgins asked her and turned his head to look at her.

"I did and she wasn't happy at first, but later sent me a text message saying she'll stay the night at her friend's place, because there at least a regular dinner occurs that the teenager doesn't need to cook," Cam cited the message.

"Dramaqueen," Hodgins rolled his eyes. "It's been weeks since she last cooked for us."

"You tell her that, I'm in no position to say anything," she replied and checked her watch. "And now I have to go," she told them, gave Hodgins' arm a squeeze and smiled friendly at Wendell before she left. Hodgins turned his head and watched her walk away and down the stairs until she was out of sight. Then he sighed quietly, but still loud enough that Wendell heard it.

"Still really serious between you two, huh?" the intern grinned.

"She is just...," Hodgins trailed off, not knowing how to describe it. He had said that Angela was awesome, and she was, but Cam... "Wow," he finally just said for lack of something more sophisticated to say. "And we should get to work, before she kicks our butts when we're not done when she comes back," he added then and Wendell nodded.

* * *

Late at night they were all standing in front of a picture Brennan had taken of Booth holding a metal star in hand.

"So the star points have a 52 degree taper," Angela said.

"An exact match for the injuries found on the bones," Cam knew.

"Yeah, and the edging shows that the stars were cut by the same saw that was used to dismember the body," they went on.

"But there are multiple wounds. It's hard to believe that she was stabbed, repeatedly, with the star until she was killed," Hodgins voiced his doubts.

"Can you show us the placement of all the bone injuries?" Wendell asked Angela and she did.

"Stab wounds are usually localized," Cam said.

"Well, maybe there were multiple stars," Angela considered.

"There. Look. The picture from shop class," Wendell pointed out the drying rack.

"Okay, well this is the drying rack. Uh, this is where they placed the stars when the varnish was drying. So let's see if the points line up," Angela showed them.

"The wounds are so deep, falling wouldn't kill her," Wendell said.

"Well, unless somebody shoved her onto them," Angela replied and showed them once again the altered animation.

"That explains the two ribs that were broken and not cut. They were fractured when the murderer threw Evelyn onto the stars," the intern knew.

"Digging the stars into her bones and puncturing the pleural cavity, killing her," Cam nodded.

"Somebody really hated her," Hodgins agreed.

"Ok, then I'll tell Brennan and Booth about the results and we can all head home," Cam sighed and walked out of Angela's office, followed by Wendell who couldn't wait to leave.

"Hodgins wrote down some last minute notes on his report so he wouldn't forget it the next day and turned to follow the other two when Angela stopped him.

"Hey Jack," she started hesitatingly.

"Ange?" he asked her and turned back around.

"I know it's late, but do you maybe want to go out for a drink and talk?" she asked him. Of course he knew that this was about the break-up with Wendell. He hesitated for a moment, knowing that she might need someone to talk to. But then he thought of Cam and the evening he had planned. And he thought of the hints that Wendell had dropped and that he had ignored before. He needed to make it clear that she was a friend, a good friend, but that was all there was left between them.

"Sorry, Angela, not tonight. It's late and Cam and I still need to get something to eat. Maybe another time," he told her and left while she just nodded.

* * *

"You're alright? You seem a million miles away," Cam observed while they lay together in bed and she had her head propped up on one hand while the other drew circles on his naked chest.

"Just... forget it, I shouldn't even think about anything but you right now," he sighed, cupped her chin with his palm and guided her lips to his, kissing her softly. "You still taste like strawberries," his smile widened.

"Come on, tell me," she refused to let him distract her.

"It's about Angela. She and Wendell broke up today. Wendell told me and then later she asked me if we could talk and go grab a drink, but I brushed her off," he told her what was bothering him.

"And now you have a bad conscience about it," she concluded.

"I do," he nodded. "She's still a friend and I should be there for her when she needs me," he added.

"Why did you say no?" Cam wanted to know and placed a kiss in the middle of his chest, moving closer to him, so she could place one leg over his and adjust the sheet she had wrapped around herself to protect herself against the cool air.

"I guess I didn't want to ruin our evening. And I had already heard the story once from Wendell and I didn't feel like hearing it again from Angela, especially because she was the one who ended it," he said. Cam didn't reply, she just kept looking at him, her hands now both resting on his chest. "Wendell kept alluding that I was somewhat involved in it," he finally admitted.

"I told you Angela is still in love with you," Cam said softly.

"And I don't wanna hear it. I love you and she and I are friends and that's it. And if she ruins her relationship because of me, then I don't want to know about it, because it's none of my business if she doesn't get the hint that we're done," he replied and sounded frustrated.

"Maybe she really just needed someone to talk to because Brennan is out of town," Cam said.

"Weren't you supposed to make me feel better?" he asked her and raised his eyebrows.

"I think I made you feel pretty good a few minutes ago," she smiled at him and managed to make him laugh. "If it weren't so late, I'd say call her, but now you can only wait until tomorrow. If she still needs to talk she will seek you out again. Angela doesn't give up that easily," she added then.

"You're right," he agreed with another sigh and slung his arms around her middle before he rolled them over so he was on top. "One can't feel good often enough though," he grinned and kissed her deeply.

"No ice cubes this time," she muttered against his lips when he pulled the sheet away from her.

"No, just us," he agreed and started another round of feeling good.

* * *

The peace of mind lasted until the next evening for him. He hadn't seen Angela all day, all of them were buried in paperwork that they had neglected the day before. And Cam had been right, just when he was done for the day and packing up his things Angela showed up in his lab.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," he said back.

"Did, um… did Wendell tell you?" she asked hesitatingly and he gave her a knowing look in reply. "Of course he did, you're friends."

"You okay?" he wanted to know.

"Yeah. Yes, I am. As you know, I have some experience in this area. And, I'd like to know if Wendell's alright?" she said and he had to smile.

"Well, he's doing much better than I did after we broke up," he admitted and his smile widened.

"Well, I don't want to be the kind of person who leaves this string of good-hearted guys behind her, ya know?" she told him and he kept the smile in place, seeing his opportunity to say what he had wanted to say for a while now.

"Ange, we broke up. Ya know. You did not dump me and Wendell is fine. And I gotta tell ya, I think you left him in - in better shape than you found him," he smiled.

"I don't know about that. I mean, I'm pretty sure he was born that way," she only half joked.

"Still. He is better for having known you, Angela," he told her honestly and put on his jacket.

"And how can you be sure?" she wanted to know.

"Because I've been there," he said with a grin and grabbed his bag and the reports he had just finished. "You coming to the bar tonight?" he asked her and switched off his microscope.

"Sure," she nodded.

"We can give you a ride if you want. It's Cam's turn to drive," he told her as they walked out of his lab.

"Wasn't it her turn the last time as well?" Angela laughed.

"Last time she was pregnant and couldn't drink anyway," he chuckled without any pain, showing her that he was finally over it.

"Sounds good, I'll just leave my car here," she agreed. "Just let me get my things."

"Meet you at Cam's office," he told her and walked in the opposite direction. "Ready to go?" he asked his girlfriend and handed her his report.

"Yes, just in time," she nodded and got up, placing his report on the stack with the others.

"Wow, you changed," he grinned, knowing she hadn't been wearing that short black dress before.

"Got blood on my blouse while weighing the organs," she reported.

"I like it," he grinned and held out one hand to her and pulled her close when she took it. He kissed her quickly but kept his arms around her as he went on. "I talked to Angela, she's riding with us."

"You talked about the other stuff as well?" Cam wanted to know.

"A bit. Told her I was better for having known her," he nodded and Cam raised her eyebrows questioningly. "Because she was the one who taught me some stuff about relationships and commitment that we can now make use of," he clarified and kissed her again, longer this time. For once Cam gave into his kiss at the lab, something she hadn't done in a while. She tightened her hold on him, wrapping her arms around his middle and deepening the kiss.

"You're done or shall I come back in half an hour?" Angela's voice came from the door and she grinned widely upon having caught them. They both just smiled and exchanged another peck before they grabbed their things and left the Institute.

* * *

The whole gang was gathered around a table at the Founding Fathers bar for a drink.

"Even ten or fifteen years later, you put the same people, in the same environments and the exact same interpersonal relationships pick up where they left off," Sweets said.

"Well, when the wall fell - the majority of KGB Agents kept their positions when the organization turned to other endeavors," Brennan knew.

"Are you saying that high school is like the KGB," Booth asked her and Cam, who was standing next to Brennan and Sweets was happy that they were still able to be around each other.

"Yeah," Hodgins grinned.

"Clandestine meetings, secret pacts, murder. Sounds like her high school," Cam agreed and took a sip of her water.

"Well, I tried to change their perception of me by telling them how rich and successful I've become but they still didn't like me," Brennan reported and Cam spit out her drink as the others started to laugh as well.

"Why would you tell them that?" Sweets asked her.

"You know what? She didn't do it right," Booth knew why it hadn't worked.

"You told her to do that," Hodgins saw right through him.

"Well, look. It had to be subtle," Booth defended himself.

"I am so never going to my high school reunion, ever," Angela told them all.

"I think it'd be fun to see how everybody turned out," Wendell disagreed.

"Oh, heck, yeah! I'd love to see how Suzanne Dowell turned out. Oh, man. She used to wear these jeans... must have been painted on," Hodgins exclaimed and his voice got dreamy as he remembered Suzanne. Cam just grinned.

"Stephanie Roberts and her little pink shirt," Sweets did his own trip down memory lane, only he didn't seem to come back.

"Dr. Sweets, are you still with us?" Cam teased him laughingly.

"Sorry," he blushed.

"Look, they didn't dislike you, Bones, they just didn't understand you. That's a big difference," Booth turned to Brennan.

"It didn't bother me. I found the reunion to be quite educational. And you were right. It was good to go back. It made me see how lucky I am. Now. This is what friendship is like; this table. I am very lucky," Brennan replied and looked around.

"Aww. Cheers!" Hodgins said and held up his drink and they all clinked glasses together.

"Cheers!"

"Salud!" Brennan said.

"You just had to say that in a language other than English," Booth teased her.

"I know someone else who usually does that," Cam said and threw Hodgins a look over the table.

"Come on, they all know you love me," he grinned back and they all had to laugh when she blushed and laughed out loud.

"We just always have to have one couple amongst us," Booth groaned and the rest laughed again.

"Next time you come over for a drink I won't even let you onto the premises," Hodgins threatened while laughing.

"Cam and I were friends before we even knew you existed," Booth shot back and switched placed with Brennan, wrapping an arm around Cam's shoulders.

"It's been a while, Seeley," she grinned up at him.

"We've known each other for a while as well," Angela grinned at Hodgins and tried to tease the other two the same way they were teasing him.

"What did I tell you this weekend at the pool?" he ignored Angela and walked over to Cam and Booth instead.

"Damn, I forgot," she grinned cheekily and stepped closer to Booth. Hodgins crooked his finger and moved it in a come hither way. She followed his invitation and grinned widely when he pulled her close and whispered in her ear "Mine."

"Oh right, now I remember," she giggled and turned back around in his arms so she was facing the table again.

"Can you get me my drink?" he asked her quietly and she leaned over the table and fetched it.

"Monsieur," she grinned when she handed it to him.

"Merci," he said and placed a kiss on her neck before they joined the friendly banter at the table again, his one arm still wrapped around her waist.

**TBC**


	18. Chapter 18

And I'm back for real! Exams are over and I'll be back to updating regularly. Hope you're still reading!

* * *

**Chapter 18: True colors**

"Hello?" Michelle said when she answered the phone.

"Hello, this is Dr. Temperance Brennan of the Jeffersonian Institute. I intended to call Dr. Jack Hodgins," came the reply.

"It's Michelle Welton, Dr. Brennan. Just a second, I'll get Hodgins," the teen replied with a laugh in her voice. "Hodgins!" she yelled then and held her hand over the speaker of the phone.

"What?" he yelled back from downstairs where he was training on his bike.

"Phone," she called back.

"Connect it to down here. I'm gonna take it in here," he screamed back once again.

"Ok, pick up, I'm hanging up," she yelled back and hung up.

"Are you two completely nuts? Do you really have to yell over two floors?" Cam asked and came out of the kitchen shaking her head in disapproval.

"I didn't want to walk down just to give him the phone," Michelle shrugged. "And man, you're in a bad mood."

"You could have just re-directed the call to the gym," her legal guardian replied and rubbed her temples.

"Headache still there?"

"Yeah, now that I have to take the kidney medication again, the migraine is coming back," Cam nodded and tiredly closed her eyes.

"Why don't you lay down for a bit?" her daughter proposed.

"Hodgins wanted to go grocery shopping and then get the part for our bathroom sink and install it," Cam replied.

"I doubt that he'll do it, cause Dr. Brennan just called," Michelle informed her and Cam groaned.

"I don't want to go to work today," she whined.

"You don't have to, Brennan and I are going diving this afternoon," Hodgins said when he came up the stairs and sounded strangely excited.

"Diving?" Michelle and Cam asked not exactly at the same time.

"They found a dead Tiger Shark with the undigested remains of a human leg in its stomach. Now we have to drive over to the Aquarium of the Atlantic to go and search for the rest," he told them and wiped his face with a towel he held in his hands.

"So a dead body in a fish tank is what motivates you to work on a Sunday," Cam said.

"Absolutely," he grinned. "You wanna come?"

"No, thanks. I think I'll lie down for a while. My head is killing me," she replied.

"You'll look after her?" Hodgins turned to Michelle.

"I'm gonna go to the movies with Paris later," Michelle shook her head.

"You'll be ok alone?" he turned to Cam and looked worried.

"I'll be fine. Unlike other people in this room I don't need someone to wait on me when I have a headache," she raised her eyebrows.

"Ok, then I'm gonna go shower and leave you with your misery," he laughed and hurried up the stairs to shower.

"Is he really looking forward to swimming in a tank with a rotting corpse in it?" Michelle asked her disbelievingly when he was gone.

"Do you even have to ask?" Cam dead panned.

"Not really," Michelle said with an eye roll and then suddenly started to snicker, then to laugh.

"What?" Cam wanted to know.

"Nothing… just he's taking a shower now, right?" the teen giggled.

"He always does after his work-out. Why? What did you do?" she wanted to know suspiciously.

"Me? Just some revenge for the pool thing," she laughed.

"I don't even want to know," Cam waved her hands and then turned around and walked up the stairs. She went into the bedroom and lay down, closed her eyes and let the sounds of the running shower lull her into a light sleep. It was a short relaxation however, because minutes later Hodgins burst out of the bathroom, clad only in his boxer shorts, rubbing furiously over his head with a towel.

"Michelle! I will poison you!" he yelled and Cam bolted up in bed, wide eyed. A second later Michelle came into the bedroom, already hunched over with laughter and unable to speak.

"Show me," she pressed out and howled with laughter when he took the towel away from his head and his hair was bright green.

"You look like a grasshopper," Cam said and had to grin as well, although she tried not to.

"What did you do?" Hodgins asked Michelle and walked closer to her, trying to threaten her. However she was still laughing too hard to care.

"Looks like she put hair dye in your shampoo bottle," Cam snickered.

"I have green hair now in places I don't even want to talk about," he complained to Cam which gave her the final push over, and she started laughing as well.

"It's Halloween hair dye, it'll come out with one wash," Michelle was able to say and then laughed again when she saw that his chest hair was light green as well. "I didn't know you use your shampoo as a body wash," she howled.

"It's two in one, shampoo and soap," he muttered and then stomped back into the bathroom and slammed the door shut. Michelle let herself fall onto the bed beside Cam and held her stomach.

"Ow, that hurts," she giggled and tried to calm down.

"I should punish you for this, but after the laughter my headache seems to be gone," Cam grinned and they burst out laughing again.

* * *

Later at the aquarium Brennan and Hodgins were getting ready while Booth assisted.

"Okay, you know what? You don't have to go in, Bones," Booth said, not too fond of the idea of letting these two into the fish tank.

"Yes, I do. We need to recover what's left of the victim to have any hope of identification," Brennan disagreed.

"Time out, okay. Have Hodgins do it," he replied.

"I look like Richard Dreyfus, don't I? 'We're gonna need a bigger boat!'," Hodgins joked.

"No - we don't need a boat," Brennan said. "Wh-why are you wearing that hat?" she asked him then, confused, realizing only now that he had come in with the hat and was still wearing it.

"Keep his brain warm, okay," Booth brushed her question off and Hodgins was glad he didn't have to answer. He had washed his hair again, but a slight greenish shimmer had remained on top of his head. The ends of his hair were looking ok by now, but the back of his head… he didn't even want to think about it. So he had put on the hat- and wouldn't take it off until the green color was gone. He had already decided that his revenge on Michelle would be horrible. "Make Hodgins go in there and do it," Booth went on.

"There is nothing to be afraid of, Booth," Brennan tried to calm her colleague.

"Yeah, you know, sharks - they don't eat people," Hodgins added.

"Really? Tell that to the guy who got, ya know, coughed up by a grouper, okay," Booth turned onto him. But Hodgins really didn't care. His nearly-step-daughter had ruined his hair and he was about to go diving in a ?; Booth really wasn't intimidating at that moment.

"Okay, who's going in?" A guy asked and both Brennan and Hodgins raised their hands. "You guys know what you're doing, right? It isn't a swim in a fish tank."

"Isn't that exactly what it is?" Brennan asked him clueless.

"Yeah, a really big, cool one," Hodgins added excitedly.

"No, no. It's the recovery of a body in an investigation of a potential homicide. Alright? Any questions, you ask me. Understand? Keep your eyes on me," Booth lectured them.

"Gotcha," the guy agreed.

"Ready?" Another worker at the aquarium asked.

"Yes, I am," Brennan said while her colleague only nodded.

"Okay, Ben here will escort you to the tank. Agent Booth, follow me. You'll be able to communicate with Dr. Brennan on our intercom system," she told them.

"Thank you," Booth replied.

"And good luck to you," she told Brennan and walked off with Booth.

* * *

~'*~

"I have the anterior aspect of the skull," Brennan said once they were in the tank and had found something a fish had coughed up.

"You'd call it a face, Booth," Hodgins couldn't help himself saying.

"Pipe down there, pal," Booth barked back. Hodgins started sifting through the sand while Brennan dove around.

"Hodgins. Over here," she called and he swam over. "Look," she told him and he saw the skeleton they had been looking for.

* * *

"And is the green finally gone?" Cam asked him with a smile when he came into her office later that day. She had had to come in as well, on a Sunday - dead bodies didn't respect the weekends.

"Took me three more hair washes to get rid of it. I will kill Michelle when I see her next time," he grumbled and leaned against her desk.

"Just please no more revenge. This will be a vicious circle," she begged.

"She started it!" he insisted.

"You threw her in the pool," Cam pointed out.

"She dyed my hair," he protested and made her sigh. "You're feeling better?" he asked her then, his voice turning softer.

"It's down to a dull throbbing pain, so yeah, I'm feeling better," she smiled bravely.

"If I can do anything for you just say the word," he smiled back.

"Don't take revenge on Michelle. At least not until my migraine is gone," she requested immediately.

"Anything but that. We're at war now, there's no going back until she surrenders," he shook his head.

"Oh boy. I'll just leave Michelle at your place and move back to mine permanently until you two are done," Cam said.

"How about we ship Michelle back to your place while you stay with me? Alone? We could have so much fun," he grinned, his smile showing that his thoughts were anything but PG rated.

"Not happening. You know we come as a package deal," she shook her head.

"I know," he nodded and turned serious for a moment, before he grinned again. "But maybe I can just lock her up somewhere on the premises?"

"Leave me out of it," she only replied.

* * *

Another hour later Cam had changed into her autopsy clothes and was listening to Clark Edison who was presenting his findings.

"The pelvis verifies the osteon count. He was between the ages of 30 and 34. The fusion of the vertebrae could indicate an injury to the spinal cord," he told her.

"Huh. Anything off the spectroscope?" she wanted to know.

"Yes. The distal tibia from the leg we found originally. It confirms the presence of perimortem bruising," he confirmed her suspicion.

"When the shark attacked the victim, he was still alive?"

"Yes. Take a look right here. I found a cleft fracture of the styloid process," the intern nodded.

"Probably blunt-force to the throat," Cam replied.

"And here, several multidirectional grooves along the glabella and the supraorbital ridge," he went on.

"The victim was stabbed in the eye?"

"Varying degrees of force may suggest that someone tried to stab the victim in the face with a narrow, sharp object," Clark said and showed her.

"Okay. Well, that makes this an official homicide. The victim was assaulted and then dumped into the tank alive as a means of disposal," Cam said and knew that homicide meant more paperwork than a simple accident. At that moment Hodgins walked into the room with a victorious smile on his face.

"I think I know when it happened," he informed her and nodded with his head in the direction of his lab so she would follow him.

"Just a second Hodgins, I want to write down the last few findings," she told him and took off her rubber gloves.

"It's ok, Dr. Saroyan, I can do it," Clark told her.

"Oh, ok. Thank you," Cam said surprised and looked a bit suspicious. The intern waved uncomfortably when she left with Hodgins, glad that they were gone. He was still carrying the scars of too much knowledge from Hodgins relationship with Angela and he wasn't too keen on reliving that time.

"Meet deploria labyrinthiformis. Better known as the groovy grooved brain coral native to the Caribbean, Bermuda and Bahamas," Hodgins told his girlfriend and boss in the Ookey Room.

"Why is it here?" she asked him and stayed on the other side of his table.

"Coral skeletons accrete tiny crystals of calcium carbonate at night. So for us, this provides a timeline similar to tree rings. Coral can tell us what was in the water and when it got there," he said.

"If you have a year to wait," she dismissed his findings.

"No. That is the beauty. Because of the rapid nature of the growth, the timeline is condensed," he grinned proudly.

"How specific is it?" she was still doubtful.

"Within hours," Hodgins said and was even happier when she looked impressed. "Now, a spike in ammonia and nitrate levels found within the coral skeleton tells us that something died in that tank on Friday night between midnight and 6:00 a.m. Something big. Like human being big," he explained with the necessary excitement.

"Ok, so we have a time of death," she nodded and couldn't help but smile about how adorable he was all proud and excited about his findings.

"Hey, before you leave: I had an idea concerning Michelle," his grin got even wider.

"Oh boy," she muttered and her smile vanished.

"Do you think she'd freak out if I dump buckets of maggots over her bed and desk? Or wouldn't she mind?" he asked.

"Wouldn't she mind? Who wouldn't mind thousands of stinky maggots in their bed. I think that's the most disgusting thing ever. She might be damaged for life and never be able to sleep in a bed again. Don't you dare!" she huffed.

"It's not worse than green hair!" he tried to defend himself and held up his hands.

"Maybe not for you. I might have nightmares now from just hearing the idea. No maggots, no bugs not even a single fly or spider, Hodgins, or I'll re-think the moving in together thing," she threatened.

"What? You're kidding, right?" he exclaimed with wide eyes.

"Try me," she replied and put her hands on her hips in a "don't mess with me" stance.

"But that's so not fair," he complained.

"No more revenge, Hodgins. This thing is over. Knowing you two nutjobs one of you will blow the house up while 'taking revenge'. The lab is already like a huge kindergarten, do I really have to play teacher at home as well?" she asked him and raised her eyebrows. He didn't back down though, but looked her straight into the eyes. After everything they'd been through she wasn't as intimidating anymore as she had been when he had met her. "I'm a coroner, I deal with dead people. There's a reason why I'm not a doctor. I don't help other human beings! Most of them make me want to slap them silly. That's why I deal with the dead; they don't talk and they don't play pranks on each other. So you and Michelle will stop or I'll kill you both and let the crazy European plastinate you and then set you up in the house so I can have the quieter version of the both of you around," Cam threatened. Hodgins watched her ramble and had the guts to snicker when she talked about plastination.

"You're so beautiful when you're angry," he grinned, leaned over the coral on the table and kissed her softly.

"Don't think you're off the hook," she muttered, clearly appeased and then turned around and walked out of his lab.

* * *

"Look what I found in the filter from the aquarium. It's a five-inch piece of tanned putrescible animal raw hide," Hodgins said when he walked into Angela's office and found her and Brennan playing with the live aquarium feed she had installed on her screen.

"From a fish?" Brennan asked.

"From a wallet," he corrected her.

"Well, if you go into a fish tank willingly, you remove your wallet, right?" Angela asked her two friends.

"Yeah," Hodgins agreed and noticed the screen for the first time. "Oh, wow. Oh, you should leave this up. It's beautiful. Peaceful. Pure," he gushed.

"It's kind of scary, though, right?" Angela smiled at him.

"I like scary," he replied and smiled back at her.

"Yeah, so do I," she nodded and kept looking at him for a moment. He held her look, and was happy that she seemed happy. It had been a while since he had seen her smile like that.

"Clark is trying to determine what sort of weapon the killer may have used when stabbing at the victim's face. Hodgins, please keep me posted about what you find in the filter," Brennan said and sounded a bit uncomfortable.

"Uh-huh," he replied and kept staring at the screen. Brennan left and after another few seconds of watching the fish swim over the screen, his mind occupied with the beauty of it, he noticed that Angela was looking at him again. He glanced to the side and met her eyes. Then he realized for the first time that his smile as a good friend could be mistaken and Brennan had obviously interpreted the situation as a 'moment' between the two former lovers. He wasn't worried about Brennan misunderstanding the situation, but he imploringly hoped that Angela hadn't made the same mistake. Glancing at her again and seeing the small smile on her face he knew she had though.

"I should go and check on Cam. She wasn't feeling too well today and I don't want her to work too much," he said and this time he waited a second to catch her reaction. He saw the disappointment and hurt flicker in Angela's eyes when he mentioned Cam. After a split second she had herself under control again and the smile was firmly back in place.

"Yeah, she told me about the migraine being back. I hope she feels better soon," she replied and he left the office with a tentative wave that she returned and then turned back to the cyber aquarium in her office.

* * *

"So then I told her that I am not ok with it and if she does that again she'll be grounded," Cam finished the tale of her latest fight with Michelle, who had decided to spend the night at her friend Paris' place without telling Cam. When she had called her around ten at night her daughter had told her that she hadn't thought they'd make it out of the lab that night and therefore wouldn't even notice that she wasn't home. "From now on I'll call her around nine whenever we work late. This time it was Paris, but next will most likely be Perry," she added worriedly. She leaned back against the red couch again after she had placed her cup with tea back on the table.

"Didn't we already agree that if they want to have sex they will have sex and they won't need a night together for that? If she officially spends the night at his place it will be too late already anyway," Hodgins replied and took another sip of his tea and kept his cup in hand, but slid down more on the sofa. He propped his feet up on the table where his cup had been before.

"Yeah, I know you're right," she sighed. "I just don't know how to handle the responsibility for a sixteen year old. Soon to be seventeen year old."

"I think you're doing well so far. Has she said anything yet about what she wants for her birthday or what she wants to do?"

"No, not to me at least. Who knows what she's planning with her friends," Cam shook her head.

"I think the time will come when she'll tell us," he shrugged and grabbed the remote that was lying between them on the cushion and turned down the volume of the TV. "How's your head?" he asked her then and placed his cup on the table again.

"Better. I'm not really fond of taking another pill, but if it's necessary I'll take the kidney medication and the migraine medication from now on. Hopefully my test results will get better soon enough and I can stop taking them again," Cam replied.

"Ok, cause I want to talk to you about something and I fear it'll bring back your headache," he admitted and placed one leg bent on the couch and turned sideways towards her.

"Nice way to start a talk Hodgins," she grinned and turned towards him as well, so he knew that he had her attention.

"Today Brennan, Angela and I were in Angela's office and I was admiring the live feed she installed from the aquarium," he started.

"It's amazing, isn't it? I asked her if she couldn't display something like it on the walls of my office, but she assured me it wouldn't work," Cam recounted with a small smile.

"Awesome really," he nodded. "But what I wanted to say is that I think you're right," he went on.

"Right about what?" she asked confused.

"Angela and I had a moment today… or I think she thinks we had a moment," he admitted.

"Define 'a moment'," she asked and drew her eyebrows together.

"I came in and saw the aquarium, complimented her and we smiled at each other," he started to explain the situation and reached over to her, took a strand of her hair that was resting on her shoulder and let it glide through his fingers. "I was happy to see her smile again, because it has been a while since I saw that smile on her face last. But when Brennan left the room looking somewhat flustered I realized that maybe Angela misunderstood the situation as well and thought we had a moment," he explained the situation to Cam.

"Did she say anything?" she asked him and watched him play with her hair for a moment before she looked back at his face. She was not angry or annoyed, simply seriously listening to him.

"No, but I know her and I saw her face when I told her on purpose that I was leaving to go see you," he shook his head. "The look in her eyes made me think 'Shit, Cam was right'."

"I guess it's the same look she had on her face when she came to see you after your nun-chuck accident and I was opening the door. As I said, I think she was really disappointed that I was at your place at the time," Cam replied.

"Damn, I just don't know how to get out of this mess," he sighed and let her hair fall back on her shoulder. "We both think we saw something, but we have no proof. If I walk up to her and initiate this big talk and she simply denies everything then I look like a total narcissistic asshole. But if I let this go on and we're right then she might think that there somehow is still a chance for us and will fall even harder when I reject her should she ever try something," he voiced his concerns. "And seriously it just pisses me off. Why can't we just be friends like you and Booth? I like Angela, I love her as a friend now and I don't want to lose her. But I can't have her running around hoping for another chance..."

"Do you want me to talk to her? Woman to woman?" she asked him and he couldn't stop himself from laughing.

"Can I bring some mud and water before you do?" he chuckled.

"Really funny, Jack," she rolled her eyes but had to smile as well." I'm only trying to help here and I'm not going to wear a bikini for that."

"I know," he smiled back and kissed her softly. "Thank you," he said and placed another kiss on her lips. "I think I'll just wait for the next opportunity and then address it," he said and pulled Cam sideways against him, so her head was resting against his shoulder. "Just want you to know that there's nothing going on between Angela and me, no matter what it might look like."

"I know that," she nodded against his shoulder and then yawned.

"You wanna head to bed?" he asked her and his hand was back in her hair, massaging her skull this time.

"No, I wanted to see the movie. I always miss the end and I want to see it today," she replied.

"I'm not carrying you to bed this time if you fall asleep on me again," he said, seeing that her eyes were already half closed.

"You say that every time and every time you do," she replied and slid down on the couch and then snuggled more into him. He didn't reply, but just smiled and kept massaging her head.

* * *

The next day Hodgins was putting Cam's blender to good use again when Clark entered his lab.

"Oh. That is the most unpleasant smell," the Dr. complained.

"Angelfish smoothie?" Hodgins grinned.

"Man, you killed the Moroccan angelfish?" Clark gasped and couldn't believe it. Jack was reminded that he had a real animal lover right in front of him, remembering the zoo conversation they had had when Andrew Welton had been killed.

"No. No, I did not. They died on their own. Only afterwards did I puree them," he defended himself.

"Oh, I really hope you can prove that. Those aquarium people love their fish," his colleague replied.

"Don't worry. The angelfish died from a generic organic protein-based neurotoxin that's found in lots of different yummy places - like the flagellum of bacteria," he explained.

"What, did they absorb it through their gills?" Clark asked.

"I think they ingested it."

"By snacking on our victim?"

"No. This neurotoxin's not strong enough to kill a fully grown human male," Hodgins replied in the negative.

"Wait a minute. What if it was injected through his eye? You know, more than once," Clark had an idea.

"Well, it'd be disorienting - as would any injection into the eye," the entomologist replied after thinking about it for a second.

"Perhaps Dr. Saroyan can find traces in what's left of the body. Thank you," he said and turned to leave when Hodgins stopped him and burst out with the topic that had been on his mind the whole morning.

"Oh, hey, Clark," he called him.

"Yeah?"

"Feel I should warn you. Angela and Wendell; they broke up," he informed him although he knew the intern wasn't too keen on knowing private things about his coworkers.

"Uh, I'm sorry. What's that got to do with me?" he replied.

"She may be on the market for a new intern," he attempted to joke.

"Okay, okay, okay. Listen. I'm gonna - I'm gonna break my cardinal rule for you and offer some good advice. Don't do that," he told Hodgins sternly.

"Do what?" Hodgins didn't know what he was talking about and was still grinning.

"Channel your own frustrations into snide allusions," he clarified.

"Oh. Snide is a strong word," Hodgins said and Clark only raised an eyebrow. "Um... I, uh, I found this for you. It was in the vacuum," Jack stuttered then, still stunned by Clark's advice. How had this guy gotten so much insight in what was going on in his head? How could he know that his frustration was linked to Angela?

"Looks like an enterolith. In cats, you would call it a hairball. Though, in this, I see some bone fragments within its composition," Clark said as he looked at the ball.

"Well, take it. It's all yours," Jack said and had clearly sobered; the humor was gone.

"Thanks."

"Clark," he stopped him again.

"What is it now, Dr. Hodgins?" the intern asked and sounded slightly annoyed.

"Thank you for breaking your cardinal rule. I'll, uh, I'll take what you said under advisement," he told him and meant it.

"Good. Just know that I really don't need to know the outcome," Clark replied and hurried off.

* * *

"Hiding?" Hodgins grinned when he stepped onto the roof terrace of the Jeffersonian. He had seen Cam leave and had followed her when she hadn't been back after a few minutes.

"No, just taking a breath for a minute," she replied and gave him a small smile when he walked up to her and leaned beside her against the banister.

"For a moment I thought you'd started smoking again," he admitted.

"No, I haven't... but oh, what I would do for a cigarette now," she sighed with a wistful smile.

"Why do you need your smokes? Something wrong? You look pensive," he asked after studying her facial expression for a moment, stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I don't know, maybe I'm overreacting but I feel like Brennan and Angela just ganged up on me," she told him what was bothering her.

"In what way?" he asked her and nuzzled her neck with his nose.

"I just asked a simple question concerning zooming in on a picture and they both went into painful detail why it wasn't possible. I felt like an idiot for even asking," Cam replied and leaned back against him.

"Isn't that what Brennan always does?" he asked.

"Brennan yes, but Angela usually stops her and doesn't join in," she said.

"You think it has to do with what we talked about last night?" he wanted to know and felt an uncomfortable feeling settling in his gut.

"I don't know. But if it was Brennan would surely be on Angela's side," Cam shrugged.

"First opportunity I get I'm gonna talk to Angela. I don't think she's being mean on purpose or anything, but just as I can't let my frustration lead me to make snide remarks, she can't let hers make her be unfair towards you," Hodgins said thoughtfully.

"She wasn't unfair... it's just one of those feelings I get without being able to explain them."

"Your statistically inaccurate gut?" he grinned teasingly.

"Exactly that. And to whom did you make snide remarks?" she asked then.

"Clark told me earlier that I should pay more attention to what I say and why I say it. And he was right," he admitted, leaning his chin against her shoulder and gazing over the garden of the Jeffersonian.

"You insulted him?" she wanted to know and turned her head to the side so she saw his face.

"No, I just made a stupid comment without thinking about it. Nothing important," he told her. "I was just frustrated about some things and I told him he was right so we're ok," he added then so she knew they didn't have another mine field at the lab.

"What about?" she wanted to know and turned around in his arms, leaning against the railing.

"You not letting me get revenge on Michelle, Angela and the whole thing," he told her.

"No revenge," she insisted.

"You saw _where_ exactly I had green hair. You know, with the chemicals in the dye it could have easily been fatal for the sensitive skin on… some areas of my body."

"But it wasn't," she said and placed her hands on top of his on her hips. "We should get back," she told him and gave his hands a squeeze.

"We could stay and make out for a while," he suggested and made her smile.

"Maybe another time when we don't have a murder to solve. I think my test on the toxins should be done by now," she replied.

"I'll hold you to that," he said referring to the first part of her statement and then they made their way back down to the lab.

* * *

A while later Brennan, Clark, Cam and Angela were standing around a tank beside the platform and Brennan explained to the others what had most likely happened to the victim.

"The victim and the killer gained access to the back area of the aquarium before the door was locked. Jazz saw the lionfish in quarantine," she said and tapped the fish tank. "This represents the quarantine tank," she informed them and called the intern over. "Jazz was all about facing his fears. He saw one of the world's most venomous fish and was taking a look at it from above the surface of the water, when someone forcibly pushed," as she said it she pushed the unsuspecting intern's head into the tank and held him under water. Cam and Angela both looked surprised and Cam even felt sorry for the poor guy. Brennan sure had a way with her interns. Zach had always been the victim, Wendell had been assaulted with a paint brush and Clark had once been nearly strangulated and now held under water. "…his head down into the tank, causing a cleft fracture of the styloid process," Brennan went on without even realizing what she was doing and finally let the poor guy up again. He gasped for air and dried his face.

"We used to do that in junior high, but we used a toilet," he remarked but no one really paid attention to his comment.

"This man died of a lionfish swirly?" Angela asked.

"Yeah. Now several of the venomous spines penetrated the eye area. A few broke and remained embedded. Now with the victim disoriented and possibly unconscious, it was very easy to drag him off to the big tank nearby," the intern explained and Cam was glad that Brennan didn't re-enact that part of the murder.

"Unconscious underwater, he was dead with his first breath. And those fish tore him apart. That's where this poor nut case's theory actually holds true: eat or be eaten," she concluded and nodded appreciatively at the team. Now Booth only had to find out who pushed his head into the tank and then threw him in the aquarium and then they would be done with yet another murder investigation.

"I really hope he was only right in his own case. I don't like this whole 'It's a bad world out there so you have to be even worse yourself' crap," Angela said as Brennan and Clark pushed the tank away and she and Cam were left alone standing beside each other.

"Me either," Cam nodded and smiled at Angela. The smile she got back wasn't as honest as she had wished and she could feel the distance that hadn't been there before. Angela had never been a really close friend, but still someone she considered more a friend than a coworker. She didn't like it one bit that the tension between them seemed to grow now, nearly a year after she and Hodgins had first got together. "And now the reports are waiting for me," she sighed to get out of the situation and Angela nodded and then walked off to her own office.

* * *

"What is that?" Cam asked Hodgins when he lifted something into the trunk of the car as they were leaving to go home that night.

"It's the filter from the aquarium that we didn't need for the investigation. I asked them if they wanted it back, but they said that they had already replaced it with a new one," he replied and closed the car trunk.

"What do you need it for?" Cam asked him and looked suspicious.

"It's really awesome quality and I'll just place it in my lab at home. I'm sure I'll need it one day," he shrugged innocently and got into the car.

"You're driving over to your place?" she asked him.

"No, I thought I'd drop you off at your place first and then head over to mine and get something to eat on the way back," he shook his head.

"Alright. Cause I need to talk to Michelle and then call a friend of mine. She already left three messages on my voicemail, telling me that she's in town, so I need to call her back and arrange a meeting," Cam replied.

"A friend from New York?"

"Yeah, a friend from college. We later worked in the same hospital as interns. She now lives in San Diego and works as a surgeon," Cam said and looked out the side window as they drove through town.

"Speaking of friends: What's going on with Booth and the aquarium chick?" Hodgins changed the topic as he pulled on the ring road.

"You mean Dr. Bryar?" she asked just to point out that she didn't approve of the term 'aquarium chick'.

"Yup," he nodded unconcerned.

"Last thing I heard is that they will go out. He liked her and she was more than interested from what I heard," Cam said.

"She is hot, no wonder he'll go out with her," Hodgins said approvingly.

"You know, if I were a jealous person that comment would have put you in the dog house for at least a week," Cam rolled her eyes.

"Nah, I let you lust after football players and hockey players and in return I can look as well. I consider it an unspoken agreement," he grinned cheekily.

"Alright," she laughed. "We haven't been to a football game together yet. Don't you have seats? I think Seeley mentioned something like that," she asked then.

"Yup, I do, but I only told Booth about the basketball seats I have. You wanna go?" he asked her.

"I'd love to. When's the next game?"

"Friday evening, I think. I have the schedule at home and can check when I go over later," Hodgins said and pulled up to Cam's house.

"When will you be back? An hour?" she asked him and unbuckled her seat belt.

"More like two. I want to get some work for the Cantilever Group done as well, since it's not that late yet," he told her.

"Ok, then see you later," she nodded and pecked his lips.

"You're ok with Italian ?" he asked her as she got out of the car.

"Sure, don't forget the garlic bread," she nodded and closed the door. A second later he was off to his home.

* * *

"You're ready?" Hodgins asked Cam when she came out of the bathroom on Friday evening.

"Yep, now we just have to wait for Michelle. Isn't she out of the shower yet?" she asked him.

"I haven't seen her yet," he shook his head. There was something in his eyes that caused her to do a double take and then narrow her eyes at him.

"Hodgins, what did you do?" she asked and walked closer to him, her hands already on her hips.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said and tried to look innocent. However when a grin slowly spread on his face Cam knew she was right.

"Jack!" she barked and he actually jumped a bit.

"She put green hair dye in my shampoo bottle," he pointed out again. "I can't let that one slide," he insisted.

"What did you do?" she asked him again, putting emphasize on every word.

"Let's just say you shouldn't use the showers in the guest rooms," he chuckled, glee and mischief in his eyes.

"I… you… urgh," Cam grunted frustrated and then walked off to the guest room Michelle had been using since the construction work had begun in the penthouse. "Michelle?" she asked when she knocked on the door.

"Go away!" the teen yelled furiously from inside.

"Whatever he did, I had nothing to do with it," Cam said and tried the door handle, but the door was locked. "Come on, honey, what's going on? Open the door please," she begged. After another minute she heard the key turn in the door and then it slowly opened.

"Look what he did to me! I look like a smurf and it just won't go away. All the water is blue," Michelle said and Cam gasped when she saw that her daughter was blue-ish everywhere. Even her hair had a blue-ish shimmer.

"I will kill him," Cam said through gritted teeth.

"Leave him to me," Michelle said angrily. "It just won't come off," she added and sounded close to tears.

"Hodgins!" Cam yelled loudly and a few seconds later he came into the room, then burst out laughing when he saw Michelle.

"I never thought it would be _so_ blue. It's like navy blue," he laughed. "That Russian guy is a genius."

"Make it come off. Now," Cam ordered.

"But she'll match the jerseys tonight," he had the guts to reply, still laughing.

"Jack! This isn't funny anymore. Make it go away, I'm serious," Cam barked at him, furious now. Her eyes were shooting daggers at him and turned from warm brown to icy black.

"Come with me, I've got the soap that will get it off in our bathroom," he told the teen and she followed him without talking to him. She took the soap from him without a word and slammed the door of their bathroom shut and then got into the shower.

"Come on, the idea was good. It took me hours to install the filter in the water pipes so we'd still have clean water," Hodgins said to Cam when she came into their bedroom as well.

"When we have kids you'll hit them when they hit you? Burn down their rooms when they paint on the walls or run them over with the car if they ruin the garden with a soccer ball?" she spit out angrily.

"Oh come on! Michelle is not a kid anymore. She started this revenge crap and strangely enough when I was all green you found it funny. Not that she's blue you're pissed at me? How's that fair?" he asked her offended.

"It's not fair, Jack. But Michelle is my daughter and no matter what she'll always come first. I know you don't mind too much running around with green hair for a day. But for a girl her age it's not even close to funny when someone messes with her hair, let alone color you blue from head to toe," Cam told him, still angry and then took a deep breath to calm herself. "How long will it take until the water won't be blue anymore?" she asked him.

"About a week?" he guessed. "But it's only in the guest rooms and the bathrooms there. The rest has filters," he said.

"Michelle and I are going to spend the next week at my place," she decided.

"And me?" he asked wide eyed.

"You can stay here with your blue water. Maybe take a shower in one of the guest rooms and see if you still find it funny when you look like the Blue Man Group," she said and then left the room before he could even attempt to discuss it with her.

* * *

"You're sure you don't want some ice cream?" Hodgins asked Michelle for the fifth time since they had arrived at the stadium. She just threw him a death stare, but didn't reply. Slowly he was getting worried that he had really overdone it this time.

"I can't wait for the second half. First time in two years I'm at a game and the seats are awesome," Cam gushed. Ever since they had entered the stadium Cam's mood had improved by the minute.

"If you want to you can go up to the VIP lounge and get a drink," he told them and again didn't get any reaction from the teen.

"I'm good," Cam grinned and slurped the rest of her coke, then snuggled more into his side. He looked at her and smiled. The large football jersey and the jeans were such a change from her work clothes, but she looked adorable.

"I'm glad," he said and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Michelle who was sitting on Cam's other side threw him a dirty look and made him sigh quietly.

"Oh Jack, look," Cam laughed suddenly while he was still deep in thought and when he looked up he saw that the kiss cam had zoomed in on them and people were waiting for them to kiss.

"I'll gladly do that," he laughed and sealed her lips with his. When she wanted to pull back he placed his hand on her cheek and deepened the kiss for a moment, so that their audience started to cheer and whistle. Flushed and laughing they broke apart and once the camera was gone Cam kissed him softly again.

* * *

"Where did Cam go?" Hodgins asked Michelle when the game was over and Cam had left to get herself one last drink but still wasn't back after ten minutes.

"Dunno," Michelle just shrugged, still refusing to talk to him.

"Not that I mind, but she has my wallet and the car keys," he added and dug his cell phone out of his pocket. It took about five rings until she picked up.

"Hey, where are you?" he asked her confused.

"On my way home," she replied and he could hear the smile in her voice.

"What? You're kidding right?" he exclaimed.

"Nope," she laughed.

"But you have my wallet and my car keys. I can't even get a cab," he told her.

"Take it as my revenge, honey," she used the term of affection exaggeratedly. "I think the walk home will do you and Michelle good. Gives you time to talk and to think about what you've done to each other and to me. Have fun," she said and ended the call. Hodgins stared at the phone in his hands and then turned to Michelle.

"She took the car and the money on purpose. We have to walk home," he informed her, still shocked and wide eyed.

"That's at least two hours," Michelle replied just as stunned.

"I know. We're lucky if we make it home before midnight," he agreed.

"Why is she doing this?" Michelle asked him as they slowly walked to the exit.

"To teach us both a lesson," he said.

"This day sucks," Michelle groaned. "And isn't it dangerous to walk around at night?" she asked him then.

"Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you," he replied.

He would never admit it to Cam but by the end of their walk he was glad that they had had the time to talk, because they had called truce and Michelle was talking to him again. That was worth a two hour walk in the middle of the night. And Cam might even let him live at her place until his water wasn't blue anymore.

**TBC**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: The date thing**

When Booth and Brennan arrived at the crime scene at the beginning of their next investigation together Cam was already there, dressed in her jump suit and ready to start working.

"Check this out. Good luck on the I.D. Too bad they didn't do it on the delicate cycle, huh?" she grinned when she saw them.

"Well, obviously the manufacturers didn't anticipate human remains," Brennan replied.

"Well, according to the laundry guy, the body could have been sitting in a pile of dirty sheets for 2 days before it got thrown into the wash," Booth informed them of what he had learned during his investigation before.

"Well, the heat in here would have sped up decomp," Cam said and exhaled. "Look out, I'm going in," she commented as she climbed into the large washer and examined the flesh that was still in there as Brennan started to examine the skeleton.

"Judging by the concavity of the rib end, the victim was middle age. Dismemberment occurred post-mortem; most likely during the spin cycle," Brennan told them about her first observations.

"Hey, what's so interesting about my tie," Booth asked her and Cam could only guess that he was referring to something she had said earlier.

"Well, a gift is a social contract - a basic anthropological construct. By giving you a tie, Catherine has entered into a social contract with you," Brennan told him and Cam grinned while looking at the remains. Those two were obviously discussing their dates with each other and Brennan couldn't help but throw the anthropological side into the mix.

"Really?" he asked and Brennan nodded.

"Fabric softeners permeated the soft tissue. Everything's swollen," Cam told them what she had found and then remembered something she had wanted to ask. A few months ago she would have asked Angela, but because their relationship was suddenly somewhat awkward she decided to ask Brennan. "Speaking of social contracts, do you like your gynecologist?"

"She's extremely competent, yes, but I don't think she's accepting new patients. I thought you were happy with Dr. Oxenburg?" Brennan replied.

"Alright, can you two just save the lady part discussion for when I'm not here?" Booth complained in his usual way and Cam simply ignored him.

"Dr. Oxenburg moved to California and I am looking for a doctor for Michelle. She's at that age, ya know?" she said to Brennan.

"No. No, no. No. We're not going to be discussing your daughter's sex life. Because A, she's a good girl; she doesn't have sex and B, you're touching a dead body," Booth protested vehemently and looked really uncomfortable. The dead body wasn't the reason though.

"I don't follow your logic," Brennan told him bluntly and for once Cam had to agree.

"I'm always touching a dead body, Seeley. If I let that be a variant of conversation, I would never…" she started when some remains fell from the washer, hitting her on the arm and rolling over to stop in front of Booth. Both she and Brennan followed the tissue with their eyes, but neither moved to do something.

"Oh, oh, ho. Okay. Can someone just please remove the eyeball," Booth said and held up his arms.

"Ooh. This is not an eyeball," Cam said with a smile, walked over to it and picked it up, then held it in front of her for him to see.

"What is it?" he asked, still not catching on.

"I'll put it this way, our victim was male," she grinned at him and really enjoyed teasing him.

"Would you rather us go back to talking about lady parts?" Brennan grinned as well and they exchanged a look which said that they both liked teasing Booth.

* * *

"Wow, what's that?" Hodgins asked when he saw the several containers and bags which contained flesh that Cam had propped up on her autopsy table.

"Our newest victim and fabric softener," she replied and opened another bag.

"Lungs?" he asked.

"No, the lungs are in parts over there. I guess this is the liver but I'll need to run some tests to be sure," Cam said

"You brought in something for me as well?" Hodgins asked her and put on latex gloves.

"The lab techs put about 3 lbs of... I'd say muck, I don't know what you will call it- on the platform for you to sift through," she grinned and placed what he guessed was the heart on the scale.

"Why didn't they put it in my lab?"

"I don't know, I didn't ask. I just figured you could help Arastoo and Brennan out on the platform if you're not holed up in your lab," she shrugged.

"Another try on the team approach?" he snorted.

"Yup," she nodded, knowing he was just joking.

"Then why are you holed up in your lab, Dr. Saroyan?" he wanted to know.

"I can't say it often enough: Cause I'm the boss," she grinned at him cheekily.

"Ok, then see you for lunch, boss," he chuckled and walked out of her office so he could start working as well.

* * *

Later on the platform Arastoo, Brennan and Hodgins were looking at the skeleton that they had finally brought in. It had been a lot of work for Cam to assemble the flesh that had been stuck in the washer and had taken her a while to dig it out.

"The skeleton appears to have suffered a great deal of damage in the washer," Brennan said without emotion.

"Well, that wins the understatement award for today," Hodgins commented dryly.

"It's going to be very difficult to find cause of death," the anthropologist went on.

"Well, if the 3lbs of muck I got here in the catch is any indication, then that washing machine must have been a beast," he gave out his next humorous comment, already aware by the time he said it that no one would laugh.

"Dr. Brennan, I found something. Right here, the junction of the maxilla and palatine," Arastoo said something work related, naturally.

"Bullet wound? He was shot?" Hodgins was surprised.

"It was a result of surgery, not a gunshot. Most likely from oral cancer," the intern clarified for him.

"There's also bone degeneration on the mandible. Our victim was probably a cigar smoker. Anything else?" Brennan asked.

"Condom!" Hodgins said with some excitement. "Unused. Never mind."

"I also found a number of fully remodeled fractures. Here's one on the right hamate bone," Arastoo added.

"It's approximately 3 years old," his boss said after taking a closer look.

"An injury like this is mostly typical for professional baseball players. The great Tony Peña suffered a similar fracture," the intern knew.

"0 for 11 as a utility infielder before being traded to the Royals," Hodgins said. He knew his stats.

"To the White Sox, after a successful surgery to repair his hamate;" Arastoo added another fact that had nothing to do with the investigation.

"Oh, and our all American Muslim drives in a run! Nice one, Arastoo!" Hodgins grinned.

"Thank you," he replied and Brennan cleared her throat as a sign that they should get back to work. "Uh, I thought our victim played baseball but then I saw this. A number of mostly repaired impression fractures in the tibia and tarsus," her intern said quickly, not wanting to anger his boss.

"An injury pattern most commonly sustained by rock climbers. And these fractures occurred about a year after the hamate fracture," she said.

"And here's where I go for the triple because...another remodeled fracture. About a year old and to the hyoid," Arastoo found next.

"With an accompanying micro-fracture on the parietal, almost certainly indicating our victim was involved in a high speed collision while wearing a helmet. What does this mean?" Brennan asked.

"Rock climbing, baseball playing, crash test dummy?" Hodgins gave her the answer in his own way. A second later Cam came up on the platform and his attention shifted from Brennan and the work to his girlfriend.

"Is there a testicle up here?" she asked and looked at them questioningly.

"Four that I know of..." Hodgins replied with a smile and made her laugh.

"I thought you located them at the scene?" Brennan asked Cam and ignored his comment.

"Just the one that scared Booth. I've cataloged the loose tissue and all the victims organs and glands are accounted for but the other testicle seems to have vanished," she replied and Hodgins looked at her with a tiny smile on his face.

"Well, it's not here but it does appear our victim was in the habit of injuring himself, annually, in a variety of risky behaviors," Brennan informed her and Cam looked up from the stuff that still lay out on the platform.

"So the guy with one gonad actually had balls," Cam commented and this time she made Hodgins laugh, even Arastoo grinned; only Brennan didn't think it was funny. "Well, if you'll excuse me, I've got an appointment," Cam said then and took off the latex glove again that she had just put on. When Hodgins threw her a questioning look she mouthed 'later' in his direction and then walked off with a wink at him.

* * *

From Brennan's gynecologist Cam had received an identical list with recommendations for gynecologists, which she had got from her Ob Gyn. By chance she had been able to get an appointment the same morning she had called the office and she decided that if she liked the guy and found he was competent then she would not only send Michelle to him, but consult him as well. She had done some more research on him before she had come here, to know if it was even worth paying him a visit.

"You were board certified in '99?" she asked him and looked at her fact sheet.

"That is correct," he confirmed.

"And you did a fellowship at Vanderbilt in..." she continued and he interrupted her.

"Reproductive Endocrinology," he finished her sentence. "Boy, you really did your research," he added then and laughed.

"You were recommended, but I wanted to make sure this is the right fit," she admitted.

"Oh, yeah. Oh, of course," he nodded.

"Do you consider yourself easy to talk to? Especially about delicate topics - like, someone's first time having sex," she went on with her questioning.

"Um, their first time with a new partner?" he asked back.

"No. No. Their first time. Like in losing their virginity," Cam clarified.

"Oh. Well, uh, yes. Of course. I-I'd be, uh, very sensitive with that topic. Um, especially if the delay in sexual maturity was due to some sort of trauma or negative conditioning," he explained and looked a bit uncomfortable although he was still very professional.

"Trauma? Oh, my God. Why would you bring up trauma?" Cam asked him confused.

"Well, when an adult woman, such as yourself, forgoes sexual activity, there are often deeper issues at play," he told her and only then did it click in Cam's head what he was talking about. Pictures of her and Jack's latest adventures- with strawberries, ice cubes, the jacuzzi and the talk about condoms and kids- flashed through her mind and she couldn't help herself and started laughing. "What?" Dr. Lidner asked, now he was confused.

"There's been a misunderstanding here. I'm looking for a gynecologist for my daughter, who's 16," Cam clarified and he looked somewhat relieved.

"Oh, great. I mean, yeah. That just makes more sense. Um, I deal with a lot of teenagers and uh, they feel very comfortable with me because they know they're free to speak about anything and it will remain confidential," he said then a bit embarrassed and Cam laughed again.

"Excellent. Well, obviously, you're respectful and highly qualified. I think this will work," Cam decided and got up, knowing she should get back to the lab.

"I'm glad. You and your husband can feel confident that I will treat your daughter with the utmost care and consideration," he assured her.

"Thank you," she said and shook his hand, then turned to leave. After a moment she turned back though, because it just didn't feel right to her to let the last false assumption stand like this. "Actually, I uh, don't have a husband. Michelle's my adoptive daughter," she told him.

"Oh, I see."

"So, thank you, Dr. Lidner," she said again.

"Uh, Paul. Please. Just call me Paul," he told her and she nodded, taking it as an understanding between colleagues.

"Paul." she repeated and then left, knowing she had to get back.

* * *

Back at the lab the first one she sought out was, of course, Hodgins. She knew Brennan was most likely out with Booth and she would save Mr. Vaziri for last, because she usually had to change back to her autopsy clothes when she worked with the interns.

"You have something for me?" she asked him when she found him in his lab, working on his microscope.

"Yup. The fingernails," he nodded.

"I don't think they're gonna help with the I.D.," she replied and leaned forward to take a closer look at them.

"I also have clothing remnants, mostly denim. A chain, also most likely part of the victims apparel. Some pieces of molded silicone elastomer…," Hodgins told her and opened the several petri dishes standing on the table beside him. When he wanted to close the last one Cam held her hand over it to stop him.

"The missing testicle," Cam said and picked up one petri dish with something white in it.

"Oh, god," for once he was grossed out and scrunched up his face.

"It's a prosthetic one. They're made of a silicone shell and filled with saline. Now, obviously, this has suffered a lot of damage in the wash, but if we can get a serial number off this, we can get an I.D.," Cam explained to him and he couldn't help but make a face again.

"By 'we' you mean us? You and me? As in me, Hodgins? Not Angela? Or Brennan?" he asked her.

"Do you have the skills to get me a serial number off this?" she asked him and held the dish directly under his nose.

"None that I can think of right now," he shook his head.

"Then I think I'll talk to Angela. She was who I had in mind anyway," she grinned, hoping that the computer geek would have an idea. She turned to leave with the testicle when he stopped her by placing a hand on her arm.

"Hey, wait! Will you get mad at me if I ask you where you were?" he said and she turned back to him.

"No, why would I get mad?" she wrinkled her forehead.

"I remember a certain incident where you also left during work hours and then nearly bit my head off when I asked where you were," he reminded her.

"You know it was the hormones talking back then," she laughed.

"Just wanted to make sure," he grinned. "So where were you?" he asked then.

"Brennan's gynecologist and my former Ob gyn both recommended the same Ob gyn and I had an appointment there this morning. I was lucky I got it so I took it even though it was really short notice."

"Something wrong?" he asked and looked worried.

"No, not for me… yet. After her latest stunt I talked to Michelle last weekend and we agreed that she should go to a doctor and get a check up so when she needs something or has questions she has someone to turn to," Cam explained to him.

"So I take it she and Perry still haven't...?"

"No, not yet I think. But it can happen fast," she said and then suddenly started to laugh.

"Why are you laughing? Memories I don't want to know about?" Hodgins asked her.

"Actually they are memories of us," she said, still chuckling. "When I talked to Dr. Lidner he thought I was talking about myself and went to trauma patients. It took me a moment to understand that he thought I was coming to him because I've never had sex."

"Good one," he laughed out loud, quieted for a moment and then started to laugh so hard he had to hold on to the table.

"It's not that funny, Jack," she grinned at his craziness.

"Actually it is. We've been going at it like rabbits since we got together and he thinks you never had sex?" he had to take a deep breath to keep talking. "If he only knew what mad skills you posses," he laughed again.

"Really romantically put, Hodgins," she shook her head.

"What? Just telling the truth here," he held up his hands.

"Rabbits?" she raised her eyebrows.

"What? You want me to talk about rats or bugs?" he grinned.

"You are disgusting," she said but leaned over the table and kissed his cheek.

"Says the lady who holds a fake testicle in her hands while she kisses me," he dead panned and made her roll her eyes.

"I'll try to get an I.D. now. See you later," she excused herself and turned to leave again.

"Later," he nodded and watched her walk away until she was out of sight and then went back to work. "A virgin, Cam... sure," he snorted and shook his head again just thinking about it.

* * *

"Sorry, I had to finish the phone call first," Cam excused herself when she sat down at a table in the diner for their lunch break. Hodgins and Mr. Vaziri had waited for her there, because she hadn't been sure how fast she would get off the phone.

"We weren't sure when you'd be out so we already ordered drinks," the intern said in an excusing way.

"It's ok," she smiled and shook her head.

"I ordered you a soda," Hodgins informed her when she looked at the drinks on the menu.

"Oh, ok. Thanks," she replied and put the menu down again.

"Anything new?" Hodgins asked her then and tipped one finger against the back of her hand. He was sitting across the table from her with Arastoo sitting next to him so he wasn't as close to her as they usually sat when it was just the two of them.

"Not really, just some administrational crap," she shook her head and leaned back in her seat when the waitress brought the drinks and they placed their food orders. "And you?" she asked them when it was just the three of them again.

"I might join Arastoo's mosque's baseball team," Hodgins let her know.

"You? On a muslim team?" Cam asked and laughed.

"We also have ringers with other religious beliefs," the intern clarified.

"Is there even anything you believe in besides bugs, slime and science?" Cam teased her boyfriend.

"Fate," he replied without missing a beat, looked her deeply in the eyes and made her blush.

"In mystic Islam people call that 'Maktub', what is already written for us and what can't be changed," Arastoo provided. "Destiny."

"Then someone was really creative with the story on our latest visitor at the lab," Cam used her humor to get out of the catchy and too personal situation. However she placed her hand on Hodgins' on top of the table for a moment and gave it a light squeeze.

"I agree," Arastoo nodded and laughed.

"Arastoo says they're playing on the weekends. Maybe we could go next weekend and take a look?" Hodgins asked Cam.

"Sure," she nodded. "You know I'm all for sports," she added with a smile.

"I'm keeping the car keys this time," he told her immediately and then explained to Arastoo what had happened after the football game. After that the ice was broken and they joked and talked until they had to get back to the lab.

* * *

"Hey, where's Hodgins?" Michelle asked when Cam finally came into the diner that afternoon for their strange dinner appointment.

"He still has some work to do... and I need to talk to you," Cam said as they took their seats at the counter.

"About?" the teen asked.

"Why don't we order first and then talk?" Cam proposed.

"Ok," Michelle shrugged.

"Ladies, you know what you're having?" the waiter asked just at that moment.

"A tuna sandwich with salad on the side for me," Michelle decided. "Oh, and some peach ice tea," she added.

"I'll take the same, but change the salad to fries," Cam told him and he nodded and went off.

"Fries?" Michelle looked at her questioningly.

"I don't know," Cam shrugged. "With all the healthy food Hodgins makes I sometimes feel the need to eat something fatty," she grinned.

"I like his food. He is a good cook," Michelle replied.

"Absolutely," Cam agreed. "How was school?" she asked then.

"Ok. My chemistry teacher was sick so I got home an hour earlier," the teen told her. "And work?"

"We have a new case. Guy was found dead in the washer at a hotel," Cam reported.

"He was washed to dead?" Michelle asked wide eyed.

"We don't know yet. The tissue is too damaged by fabric softener to really say anything, but we believe he was already dead when they put him in the washer," her legal guardian replied.

"At least he's clean now," Michelle shrugged.

"I wouldn't put it that way," Cam chuckled.

"Why, he must look good now that all the blood has been washed off," Michelle wasn't understanding what Cam was getting at.

"You don't want me to paint you a picture before dinner, believe me," she told her instead and Michelle scrunched up her face, now getting the hint.

"Ladies, your drinks and your food," the waiter said and placed their orders in front of them.

"That was fast," Michelle complimented before she bit into her sandwich.

"Oh, fries," Cam sighed and ate one and then took a sip of her ice tea.

"So what did you want to talk about?"

"I found you an Ob gyn today," she finally spilled it. "And you have an appointment at six today."

"Oh no. I didn't think you'd have the task on your 'urgent' list," Michelle rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, I think you'll like Dr. Lidner and you should have someone else to talk to… especially if there's anything - anything you prefer I didn't know about," Cam said.

"I told you, Perry and I are not having sex," her daughter insisted.

"I know and I believe you but you're growing up and your body - it's a woman's body now, not a child's and you should treat it like a woman," Cam insisted and Michelle threw her a look. "And I'm gonna stop talking now," she concluded and Michelle had to smile.

"It's no big deal, Cam. It's just a doctor," the teen shrugged and bit into her sandwich again.

"I know, it just means you're growing up, for real," her mother became a bit wistful.

"And you don't quite know how to handle that," Michelle knew.

"What? No..," Cam brushed it off at first. "Yeah, kinda but I will, we will, right?" she admitted then. "I mean, you don't know how to handle me, either. Do you? Because that would be embarrassing," she worried.

"We're fine, Cam," Michelle assured her with a smile that clearly said that she thought Cam was losing it again.

"Because you and Perry aren't having sex, right?" Cam grinned happily and Michelle's smile vanished. "Okay, okay. Fry?" Cam said as a peace offering and managed to make Michelle smile.

"So, we're leaving from here?" Michelle asked her after taking one of Cam's fries.

"I thought we'd stop by home before. Maybe you want to change or freshen up? I'll have to get back to work again afterwards," came the answer.

"Ok, but we'll have chick flick night once the investigation is over, 'kay?" Michelle tried to charmingly blackmail her.

"Ok, but without Hodgins this time. You two have tortured each other enough these last weeks," Cam decided.

"He started it when he said I was cheating when I wasn't," Michelle insisted.

"You know Jack can't lose."

"I know. Still sometimes it really pisses me off," Michelle admitted.

"You're really ok with us moving in with him? I mean apart from the bigger house?" Cam used the opportunity to ask her.

"Don't worry, I really am," the girl nodded. "I like Hodgins, even though he can't lose. He doesn't try to substitute Dad."

"He could never substitute your father, Michelle. No one could," Cam nodded.

"I like that he doesn't. I mean, sure he sometimes tells me to pick up my stuff or when we fight he gets more and more involved now and speaks his mind. But he's more like an uncle or an older friend or something. I can talk to him when I want to and I know he's always there."

"I'm really glad you approve of him. I wouldn't know what to do if you didn't," Cam admitted.

"I approve, don't worry," Michelle grinned and took another one of Cam's fries.

* * *

"Hey, how did it go?" Cam asked when Michelle came back into the waiting room after her check up.

"Fine. You really didn't need to come with me," Michelle replied and stressed the 'really'.

"I just wanted to make sure you were comfortable," her mother said and got up.

"Sure. He's cool. Easy to talk to," the teen shrugged and tried to look extremely bored and like it wasn't a big deal at all.

"Good. That's excellent," Cam said excitedly and relieved as well.

"Uh, excuse me, Dr. Saroyan. Um, do you have a minute? A couple of insurance questions is all," Dr. Lidner, who came out of the room that moment asked.

"Sure. Be back in a minute," Cam smiled at Michelle and followed him. Michelle let herself slowly sit down on a chair in the waiting room and exhaled loudly. It was hard at times being the adoptive daughter of a woman who had last had contact with her when she had been six years old- and still had trouble accepting that she wasn't a child anymore.

"Is there a problem with Michelle?" Cam asked the doctor meanwhile and looked worried. Somehow the whole insurance thing felt like a pretense to her.

"Oh, no, no, no, no. She's-she's great. In perfect health," he assured her.

"And she spoke to you… about things," Cam smiled and tried to get some information from him that she knew he wasn't allowed to give her.

"Confidential things. Yeah," he answered her with a knowing smile and she nodded, knowing she had been caught. "I can tell you she's a wonderful girl. But that's not why I wanted to talk to you," he went on.

"Right. Insurance," she said, because it was the only thing that she could come up with.

"Uh, not about insurance, either, no," he told her and took a step towards her. The move stopped her fidgeting with her clutch.

"Now I'm stumped," she admitted.

"Um, I just thought - Would it be weird if I asked you to, uh, go out with me sometime?" Dr. Lidner asked her and looked nervous. For a second Cam was at a loss for words.

"Ye-Yes, that-that, um...would be weird," she stuttered, not really understanding what was going on here.

"Of course. Uh, very weird," he admitted embarrassed.

"Yeah, right? It-it is weird," Cam was still not able to form a complete sentence. He had totally surprised her.

"Totally. Totally weird," he said again and walked behind his desk again to put some space between them.

"But, um, if I wasn't taken I would say yes," she told him, feeling a bit sorry for him.

"Really?" he asked and she nodded. "That's... great," he said then and didn't look as embarrassed anymore.

"Does that mean you're asking?" she asked him just because she still couldn't believe that this was happening. It was just too bizarre. However her phone rang and she saw that she had a text from Hodgins telling her that they had found something. "Oh. I'm sorry. Excuse me. Work. I've got to go." she said and hurried to the door.

"Oh, I-I am, though," the doctor had the guts to say and she stopped.

"What?" he had lost her again.

"Asking," he clarified. "Can I call you?"

"I'm sorry Paul, but I've got a boyfriend and he surely wouldn't like that," she told him as friendly as she could and then left.

* * *

Once Cam had dropped off Michelle at home she went back to the lab and did the necessary paperwork for the things they had found out so far.

However she couldn't stop thinking about the weird moment at the Ob gyn's office today when her daughter's gynecologist had asked her out. Problem was that Michelle liked him and she couldn't think of a way to make her go to another gynecologist without having to tell her the whole thing. And she didn't want to do that.

At the same time she hoped that she wouldn't have to see him again because the situation was just awkward now. Of course, consulting him herself was now out of the question. She would have to find someone else.

Without much enthusiasm she finally analyzed the blood stains on the carpet that Booth and Brennan had brought in and then called the anthropologist to tell her about the results.

"Erik Dalton's hotel room's a good bet for the murder scene. We found two sets of DNA," she told her when she was in her office.

"So, two people bled on this carpet?" Brennan asked.

"Yes. The first set of DNA belonged to our victim," Cam nodded.

"Perhaps the second set belongs to our killer," her colleague suggested.

"I found traces of Klonopin in the mystery blood, which means, whoever it belongs to either has a panic disorder or epilepsy," she let her know.

"We should cross-reference the list of campers with the prescription drug database," Brennan said and walked towards the door, then turned back to Cam, which surprised her. She braced herself for something outrageous or simply strange. It was usually private things that made Brennan turn around and private talks were always awkward with her, especially since Booth was usually the subject.

"Booth seems to like Catherine, don't you think?" Brennan asked her.

"I do. I'm glad. It's been a long time since he's dated anyone," Cam replied with a smile. Partly because she had seen it coming and partly because she was happy for Booth.

"I know. It's important for Booth to share his life. I prefer being alone."

"But you're seeing Hacker," Cam pointed out.

"Yes, and I like him, but not like Booth," she let slip and Cam nodded slightly and grinned wider. "I mean not like Booth wants to like someone," Brennan corrected herself quickly but it was already too late.

"All organisms evolve and develop along patterns only recognized in retrospect. Your life doesn't exist outside the laws of nature," Cam said, knowing that with a normal argument she wouldn't win with Brennan.

"Then, in ignorance, I await my own surprise," she replied and Cam could only shake her head. "Although the odds of it involving a commitment to another person are remote."

"I never thought I'd be seriously dating now; yet I am," Cam shared.

"You mean Hodgins?" Brennan asked.

"I think so," Cam said with a large smile. Who else could she be talking about? "We're going to move in together," she added for good measure.

"It's been quite a while for you since you lived with someone," Brennan said bluntly.

"And thanks for pointing that out," Cam replied, knowing that her subtle sarcasm would be lost on Brennan, especially if she said it with a smile. Then Brennan's cell phone chirped signaling an incoming text message.

"Oh, Booth wants me to meet him at the hotel," she said and looked reluctant.

"Go. I'll call you if I get a hit on the Klonopin," Cam assured her and smiled to herself when Brennan left. She would never say it out loud, but beside the weirdness of it, now it felt actually good that the handsome doctor had asked her out. It was good for her ego knowing that other guys beside Hodgins still found her attractive. Even though he was the only one whose opinion really mattered, flattery was nice every once in a while.

* * *

Slowly Cam walked out onto the patio, carrying the glass she had filled a bit too much with orange juice and tried not to spill anything.

"Why don't you just take a sip? Will it really crush your ego if you lose the battle against the too full glass of juice?" Jack teased her when he saw her walking in.

"My ego is just fine, thanks a lot," she replied with a smile.

"Actually it seems a bit too fine today," he replied and raised his eyebrows as she sat down in a chair next to him.

"I had a good day today," she shrugged and thought about the flattery she had received from Michelle's gynecologist.

"I take it the doctor's appointment went well," he asked.

"It did," she nodded. "Michelle's in perfect health and she told the truth about her relationship with Perry," Cam told him.

"So you're feeling better now?"

"Absolutely," she nodded and finally sipped at her orange juice.

"Anything else happened?" he wanted to know, still suspicious about what had put her in such a good mood.

"Nothing," she replied with a small smile. "I'm just happy I found a doctor for Michelle. And he's really nice," she shrugged.

"How nice?" he asked her even more suspicious now.

"Nice enough that I can send my teenage daughter to him and maybe even consider him for myself," she avoided answering him directly.

"You want another doctor for yourself?" Hodgins said surprised.

"I'm not sure, but maybe Michelle will find it strange if we have the same Ob gyn. I didn't want to see the same one as my mother when I was younger," she said. "And what did you do?" she asked him, because they usually exchanged the latest case information on the way home. This day however they had come and gone with two cars and she had been on the phone through most of dinner time with her father.

"I decided that I'll go with Arastoo to his baseball training and check out his muslim team mates. Other than that we did some reconstructions with Angela," he reported.

"You talked to her?" she asked him. They both knew he was stalling on the big talk he had to have with Angela.

"No, not yet," he sighed. "We weren't alone and all we talked about was the case and some baseball. I can't just pull her aside for the big talk," he added.

"I know," she sighed and then remembered something else. "I talked to Brennan today, or actually she talked to me and she said, and I quote 'I don't like Hacker as much as I like Booth'," she told Hodgins with a gleeful grin.

"Holy crap! That's basically a confession of love coming from her," he exclaimed.

"She noticed her slip and tried to cover it up, but I wasn't buying it," Cam laughed about his excitement.

"Maybe one day we won't be the only couple at the lab anymore," he grinned as well.

"If you think that will make me loosen the rules around the lab, you're mistaken, honey," she laughed out loud.

"I'm just an affectionate guy, I can't help it," he shrugged and laughed with her.

"Oh, I know," she nodded and pulled him closer when he leaned over and kissed her.

"God, why do I always have to find you in this position? Can't you just read a book or something?" Michelle busted them once more.

"You just always pick the wrong time to walk in on us," Jack replied.

"Of course it's my fault," the teen rolled her eyes.

"Sure," he nodded and chuckled when she threw him an unnerved look.

"Anything new on the studio?" she changed the topic then.

"Actually, yes. I talked to the construction guy today and they will start the real work next week. They just don't know yet if they can really take out the wall to the bathroom and push it back into the small room, because it is possible that it's a bearing wall," he let the women know.

"Oh that sucks," Michelle pouted.

"I'm sure they'll come up with something. If you really want that huge bathroom and smaller closet they could just support the wall with a pillar or so. I'm no expert but if it comes down to it we might have to get a structural designer to take a look at it," Jack tried to calm her.

"I really appreciate it, Jack, but don't you think that's a lot of trouble and money for the fact that afterwards the bathroom will have two square meters more and the closet two square meters less?" Cam asked and looked from him to Michelle and back.

"I know, but if she really wants the bigger bathroom," he shrugged. He really wanted Cam and Michelle to move in with him and the thought that the two square meters could keep them from moving in was causing him to consider tearing the wall down himself.

"Cam's right, Dr. H. Who knows how long I'll even be living up there. I'm off to college in a year and I don't know if I'll stay in the area or not," Michelle voiced her opinion as well. She knew he would do everything he could to get them to move in.

"So what's the verdict? You want the bigger bathroom or not?" Hodgins asked Michelle. "Your call. It'll be your room."

"Ok, uhm," she started and thought about it again. "Let's do it like this: If it's a bearing wall we'll just leave it as it is. If it's not we'll do it as planned," she decided.

"Oh-kay," he nodded. "Once that is done one way or another, then the painters will come and put up the new wall papers and paint. Then comes the new floor for the bathrooms and bedrooms," he informed them.

"Isn't that usually done the other way around?" Cam wondered.

"Usually yes, but not if you have to import marble from God knows where so it'll match the rooms on the first floor," Hodgins replied and the tone of his voice made it clear that he thought it just as crazy as they did. However an old house came with responsibilities and he had to think about monument protection as well as value enhancement. It wasn't always that easy being a billionaire.

* * *

The next day Hodgins found himself with Brennan, Arastoo and Angela again. With a certain relief he noticed that he wouldn't have a chance to talk to her this time either.

"Angela scanned the castings I made of the fatal injuries so we can get a better sense of the murder weapon," Arastoo said.

"Yeah and I cleaned up the edges and these are the shapes that caused the injuries," Angela explained what she had done.

"Cam said the blood spatter analysis didn't show any drag marks on the carpet from Dalton's hotel room," Hodgins recounted what Cam had told him the evening before when they had talked some more about the case while sitting out on the patio with Michelle. By now the teen wasn't even that grossed out anymore as long as they left out the gory details and saw it more as a crime novel or movie they were talking about.

"Hmm. Which means that Cole wasn't killed there," Angela commented.

"No two of the injuries share the same impact surface area," Brennan confirmed what her friend had just said.

"I know. So it appears the guy was hit with various weapons that were each used once," her intern added.

"Or he was hit multiple times by a weapon with a variety of surface shapes," Brennan knew another possibility.

"Well, you know, this could be a tailpiece," Angela thought out loud.

"A what?" her friend had no idea what she meant.

"And-and that could be a tremolo arm, which means that those lines are from strings," Angela went on, without explaining it.

"Wait a minute. Out victim was beaten to death with a guitar?" Hodgins could follow her though.

"I've actually seen this before. Solid body guitars can prove quite lethal," Brennan agreed.

"There have to be over 50 guitars at the fantasy camp. Without cause, we can't get warrants for all of them," Arastoo wasn't too fond of this idea.

"Yeah, but that shape. I mean, the bottom is too curved to be a Tele or a Strat, but... it's not an SG because the tailpiece wraps around and then there's the distance to the jack plate. You know, I think we're looking for a '57 Gibson Les Paul," Angela knew and the others starred at her.

"That is so hot that you know that," Hodgins exclaimed before thinking about it. However when she smiled back at him _that way_ and he noticed the others were looking at him kind of funny it occurred to him what he had just said. "Interesting. It's... that's interesting," he tried to save himself and wished he could kick his own ass.

"Well, it's not like I know every guitar, but I do know the expensive ones," Angela said, still looking at him with her eyebrows raised and that small smile on her face.

"How expensive?" Brennan wanted to know and he was glad that Angela finally had to look somewhere else but at him.

"I'd say our victim was beaten to death by about a quarter of a million dollars," she replied.

* * *

Half an hour before noon Hodgins stopped by with Arastoo at Cam's office, a bag slung over his shoulder. The two closed the door behind them and found Cam sitting at her desk, reading a report.

"Hey, babe, so you're coming with us to the batting cages or not?" Hodgins asked her.

"Nah, I think I'll stay here and let you boys have some fun alone," she said and made a dismissive movement with her hand.

"Aw, but it would be even more fun with you," he grinned, leaned down and kissed her, not minding that Arastoo was there with them in the room. Since they had agreed to play baseball together he had upgraded from a simple intern to one of his buddies.

"Another time. I'm also a bit overdressed for the batting cage and wearing the wrong shoes," she replied and looked down at herself.

"You could just play barefoot, Dr. Saroyan," Arastoo joked.

"And then put my dirty feet back into the heels? I really think I'll pass today. But you two have fun," she said again and stood up.

"What are you gonna do?" Hodgins wanted to know.

"I'm gonna drive over to the dry cleaners and pick up my dress and your suit and then I'll just grab something to eat there. I think there's this park nearby," she told him. "Or do you need the car?"

"Nope, Arastoo is driving," he shook his head. "And you be careful," he went on and pecked her lips. "And don't drive too fast," he added and pecked her lips again. "And bring back the right suit," he went on, simply so he could kiss her again, which he did. "And don't let them rip you off," he kissed her again, each peck getting longer and Cam was softly chuckling by then.

"Stop it Hodgins. Now get out or you'll never be back before your lunch break is over," she laughed and playfully pushed him away with her hands on his chest. He turned around to leave, then came back quickly, grabbed her and kissed her deeply before she knew what was happening.

"One more for the road," he winked at her before he finally left with a laughing Arastoo.

* * *

"Paul?" Cam asked surprised when she walked through the small park near the dry cleaners shop and found him sitting on a bench obviously having his lunch break as well.

"Dr. Saroyan. This is a nice surprise," he smiled at her, truly happy to see her.

"You're on your lunch break as well?" she asked him for the lack of anything else to say.

"Yes, I am. I live close by. And what brings you here?" he replied.

"Lunch break and the dry cleaners," she told him with a smile.

"Aunt Mae's?" he asked knowingly.

"Yeah. She's the best," Cam laughed.

"You want to sit?" he asked her.

"Sure, if you don't mind," she replied a bit awkwardly, hoping that their slight flirting hadn't let him think that the boyfriend she had mentioned was debatable.

"Not at all. It gives me the opportunity to apologize for yesterday. I was out of line to ask you out like that," he said shyly, but looked at her and she could see that he meant it.

"I have to admit that I was actually flattered. Still am," she admitted with a smile. "Most men who find out that I'm a coroner don't even look my way again," she laughed.

"I have trouble believing that. Can't be smart men then," he laughed.

"One time I went out with a professor and everything went great, we had a nice evening. Until he asked me what I do for work. I told him the truth and then after a perfectly nice evening, I could tell he didn't even want to shake my hand. He looked positively pained," she told him and took the first bite of the fruit she had brought.

"He's a science professor," Paul asked.

"No. Associate professor. Oh. People get weird when they find out that I handle dead people all day. Now I just say I'm an insurance underwriter," she admitted. Not that she needed that lie anymore now that she had Hodgins.

"Oh. Good one," he complimented her.

"Mm-hmm," she made as she chewed her fruit.

"I'm an accountant," he admitted then.

"No," she said amused and then laughed.

"Oh, yeah. No one wants to talk about work with an accountant. Or an insurance underwriter," he confirmed and sipped his Orangina.

"Except other accountants or underwriters," Cam pointed out.

"Mm," he made and looked at her for a moment, then chuckled nervously.

"So, do we share any other great deceptions?" she asked him, simply because she liked him and it was fun talking to him. She was sure that if Hodgins weren't in the picture she would absolutely give him a chance.

"Um... I can make a coin disappear and come out of your ear," he suggested.

"Ooh. I hate magic. I'm sorry," she said apologetically.

"Ah. Yeah. Me too. But it always worked for my Uncle Dave. Of course he was in a nursing home," he said and made her laugh again.

"Am I smiling like a fool? 'Cause that would be embarrassing," she asked him. She didn't want to give off the wrong vibe.

"Ah, well, you look beautiful embarrassed," he said nonchalantly.

"Then I'll keep smiling," she grinned. When he smiled back at her and silence spread between them she realized that she was actually flirting with the guy and that she should stop it. "Listen, Paul," she started and his smile slowly vanished when she turned serious. "I don't mean to sound vain or anything, but you asked me out and I told you 'no' and now here I am and we get along great, but... I'm taken. I'm in the process of moving in with my boyfriend and he's a great guy and... I shouldn't flirt with you, because I don't want to paint the wrong picture here," she told him.

"Don't worry, I get it. I appreciate your honesty," he said. "However there's nothing wrong with spending lunch break together," he shrugged. "I had fun and I liked our talk. Your boyfriend is really lucky," he said and made Cam blush again.

"Actually I'm the lucky one. He accepted Michelle without us even needing to talk about it, now he's remodeling his house so we can move in. And he didn't walk away when I shut him out after I had a miscarriage after an ectopic pregnancy," she smiled softly and then looked up at him. "God, I'm sorry. I don't know why I just told you all of that," she said embarrassed and blushed even more than before.

"I think it's a vibe I send off. My patients do that a lot; they tell me about their problems. It's fine really, I don't mind," he told her honestly and with a smile. Cam gratefully smiled back at him. "Do you know what the reason was for the ectopic pregnancy?" he asked her then, his professional interest winning over decorum.

"It's possible that a misplaced contraceptive coil left scars," she told him.

"Yeah that happens," he nodded. "You want to try again for a baby?" Paul asked her.

"We do, yes. Jack wants a family more than anything and I can picture myself having kids with him, which is a first," Cam replied.

"If you have any problems, questions, anything, please know that you can always consult me. Both of you," he offered.

"Thank you. I appreciate it," she replied, not sure yet if this was really a good idea.

"I should get back to the office," Dr. Lidner said after checking his watch.

"And I have a murder to solve," Cam agreed and slowly got up. "Um, what do you say we meet for lunch again this week?" she asked him. "With Jack," she added.

"Yeah," he nodded.

"I'll see what my parental duties are and talk to Jack and give you a call?" she asked him.

"Sounds good. Okay," he nodded again with a smile and then Cam left with a wave in his direction.

* * *

When she got back to the lab Jack was still gone and he remained MIA for a while. She checked her calendar and saw that neither had anything coming up. She knew that practice with the baseball team would only be once a week, so it shouldn't be a problem to introduce him to Paul later that week.

Usually she wouldn't have proposed another meeting, but Paul was really nice and she just knew that Jack would like him as well. So why miss the opportunity to make a new friend. So she called his office and left a message on the answering machine when she couldn't reach him personally.

When Hodgins and Arastoo finally were back in the late afternoon Booth had brought in the potential murder weapon and she had to check it for prints.

"Oh, wow. This is gorgeous. I wish my dad was here," Angela gushed when she saw the guitar on the platform.

"No prints other than those of the dealer," Cam told them about her results.

"The killer did an excellent cleaning job," Hodgins said with something in his voice that meant he was up to the challenge.

"Take it apart. See if he missed anything," Cam told him, giving into his silent request.

"Okay, um... I'm not going to watch that," Angela said disapprovingly, looking at them like they were going to kill a kitten.

"I'll do it in the Ookey Room. Arastoo, little help here?" Hodgins grinned excited and took the guitar, Arastoo following him carrying the stand. When Cam turned around to watch them leave she saw Michelle coming in and she didn't look too happy.

"Will you excuse me?" she asked Angela a bit wary, not knowing what she could have done to annoy Michelle.

"Dr. Lidner left a message at the house," Michelle said as they walked to her office.

"Was there anything wrong with your tests?" Cam got worried.

"No. He was confirming your date for Friday," the teen spit out.

"Oh. That. Yes. I was going to tell you..." Cam stuttered and meant to explain everything, but Michelle didn't let her finish.

"You're dating my gynecologist!" she burst out.

"No! This wasn't my fault. It just happened," Cam said and it didn't make any sense, even to her own ears.

"What? Think about what you'd say if I said that to you," Michelle taunted her.

"I'd ground you," Cam admitted. "I'm... sorry. We met during lunch. We liked each other," she began to explain again, but the look on Michelle's face stopped her. "That's all. And that was wrong. Very, very wrong," she emphasized.

"Is that why you sent me to him? So you could get a date?" Michelle asked and Cam's mouth fell open. "I know you haven't seen anyone else since you got together with Hodgins," she added.

"No. He's a good doctor, that's all," Cam protested vehemently.

"Who just happens to be cute," Michelle said as if it were no big deal.

"Yes," Cam exclaimed, because after all he was cute. "No. God," she said helplessly when she realized again that everything she said came out all wrong.

"Why didn't you tell me? Don't you trust me? You have to sneak around behind my back?" her daughter questioned her.

"No," Cam said, then did a double take. "Wait. How did we switch roles here?" she asked her.

"I can't go back to him now. That would be extremely skeevy," Michelle ignored her question.

"We just met by chance for lunch. I swear. I will never see him again. I promise," Cam said, wondering if Michelle was angry about her seeming to date someone else or because she hadn't told her about it.

"What about Hodgins? Is he ok with you dating someone else? Is this another one of your strange 'agreements' after a talk?" Michelle guessed.

"What?" Cam was stunned.

"You broke up once, then you 'paused' the relationship. But if he doesn't know and you're dating Dr. Lidner for whatever reason: Do you know what kind of pressure that puts on me?" she went on.

"No, I... I didn't realize," Cam was too stunned to properly react or clear the situation in any way.

"You need to either break up for real or stay together for real... for my sake. But don't sneak around behind my back. You and Hodgins are such a good fit. You can have a little fun but don't go too far. You're practically a married woman," Michelle advised.

"Excuse me?" Cam exclaimed and wasn't sure if she should laugh or cry.

"I thought you believed in honesty," Michelle questioned.

"Oh... all right. I love Hodgins. Very, very much," she threw in then, just to make that clear.

"Good. And find me a new doctor. A woman," Michelle requested.

"Sure. Right away," Cam nodded, hoping this talk would soon be over and she could start doing damage control.

"I've got to get back to school," Michelle told her then, because she still had theater class, and hugged her goodbye.

"Okay."

"Love you," Michelle said as she left the room.

"Love you, too," she replied and then walked over to her desk and dropped down in her chair. She wondered what had just happened and how a simple lunch date invitation _with Hodgins_ had caused such a mess.

* * *

"How stupid is it that the guy leaves his purple hair in the guitar string? It would have taken us forever to identify him if it had been a black one," Hodgins told Michelle how the case had ended and who was the murderer.

"I doubt he left that hair in there on purpose. Without a confession they won't get him," Cam said.

"Booth will get him to confess," Hodgins was convinced.

"Oh yeah, Seeley will stare him down," Cam agreed and they both laughed, but Michelle only glared at her.

"Did I miss something?" Hodgins looked from one to the other, knowing that Michelle had given Cam more than one disapproving look during the course of this dinner.

"No, nothing," Cam innocently shook her head, because she really didn't want to get into this now.

"Yeah, sure," Michelle snorted. "I'm gonna go now and call Perry. _Talk_ to him," she said pointedly and left the table, taking her plate and her glass with her.

"Ok, what's going on here?" Hodgins asked Cam when Michelle was gone and had closed the balcony door behind her.

"Urgh," Cam groaned, knowing that she couldn't avoid the talk anymore. She bowed her head so her chin nearly touched her chest and squeezed the bridge of her nose with two fingers.

"What did you do?" Hodgins asked and narrowed his eyes at her. He slowly got the feeling that it didn't have anything to do with Michelle, but with him.

"I… when I… Michelle's…" she sighed deeply and finally looked at him. "Michelle's gynecologist asked me out," she admitted then.

"He what?" Hodgins exclaimed, his eyes getting wide.

"After Michelle's appointment he asked me out. And I said no," she provided a bit more details. However by the way she fidgeted in her chair and nervously fiddled with her fingers he knew there was more to come.

"And?" he asked when she didn't go on.

"And he accepted that," she stalled.

"Cam," he sighed already fed up with how slow she came forward with the info.

"Today I met him by chance at the park during lunch break and he apologized for asking me out and then we spent the break together at the park and talked," she finally spilled it.

"You spent your lunch break with a guy who asked you out?" he summed it up.

"And then apologized for it," she pointed out. "But I might have flirted with him a bit and we thought we could meet for lunch again," she said and scrunched up her face when she realized how it sounded.

"Are you serious?" he asked loudly and nearly jumped off his chair.

"With you," she added quickly and raised her voice as well. "We thought we could have lunch together, the three of us. I'm sure you'd like him."

"Uh, no I wouldn't. I don't like a guy who is hitting on my girlfriend, especially when she obviously likes it," he replied forcefully.

"I was flattered, ok? He's not bad looking and it has been a while since a complete stranger asked me out," she admitted. "But I told him that I'm taken and he respects it. He even said we could consult him if we have troubles with the baby thing," she tried to calm him.

"You told him about the pregnancy?" he gasped, his eyes wide.

"He's a gynecologist. It just slipped out," she admitted.

"Slipped out?" he repeated angrily. "Did something about Michelle 'slip out' as well and that's why she's so pissed?"

"No, it didn't. Paul called this afternoon to confirm our lunch date with him and Michelle heard the message and thought I was dating him," she admitted.

"Looks like she wasn't too far off," Hodgins muttered and leaned back in his chair, hurt written all over his face.

"Jack, please," she said and placed a hand on top of his, but he pulled away.

"No… just… leave me alone for a while, ok? I need some time to digest this," he said quietly.

"You two are totally blowing this out of proportion," Cam got frustrated. "A guy asked me out, I told him no and that I was taken and then later met him by chance and talked to him. What's the big deal?" she asked him.

"The big deal is that yesterday I asked you repeatedly if anything happened because you were in a suspiciously good mood and you told me it didn't. You lied to me," he said angrily and pointed at her face.

"What did you want me to say? Hey Jack, Michelle's gynecologist asked me out today, but I said no. But, by the way, it was nice to know that some guys still find me attractive?" she asked.

"I find you attractive, isn't that enough?" he asked her back. "Why do you women always need more than one guy to adore you?" he muttered.

"Ok, stop!" she told him, her voice shaking with anger now. "I think we both know that you're not talking about me right now. I don't have any hidden husbands and I didn't kiss anyone. I talked to him and I thought you'd like to meet him because he's a nice guy, that's all. So don't impute something to me that I didn't do. I'm not Angela," she said. "Oh and talking about Angela: I remember someone, who, while he was in a relationship with her, couldn't keep his eyes off the chick from the bomb squad," she went for the kill. "I just talked to Paul, I didn't undress him with my eyes," she said and then marched inside and slammed the door shut behind her.

"Paul," Hodgins snorted and sank back deeper in his chair.

* * *

"You know, my house is big enough to hide somewhere," Hodgins said later that night when he walked into Cam's apartment and found her in the living room, flipping through some papers in a folder. He had calmed down by now and knew that he had been overreacting just as much as she had done by not telling him in the first place.

"I needed to check something," Cam muttered, her voice strangely hoarse. She was surrounded by dozens of papers and folders that were spread out on the floor.

"Mmh," Hodgins made and walked up to her, placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry," he said then.

"Me, too," she replied and looked up at him. In her eyes he could see that she had been crying. They were still glassy and a bit red.

"Come here," he said and gently pulled her up and into his arms. "You know I'm jealous. I can't help it," he told her and placed a kiss on her temple.

"I really didn't plan on meeting him again. We just ran into each other. And I really think you'd like him," she told him and pulled back a bit so she could look him in the eyes.

"I don't know if I can be friendly to a guy who hit on my woman," he wondered.

"You could try," she smiled a bit.

"I could," he nodded. "But can you please look for another gynecologist?" he requested.

"I already am," she told him.

"Good," he smiled. "Then I'll try and be friendly to him when we meet him for lunch," he added and kissed her.

"I hate fighting with you," she sighed when he pulled back.

"Yeah, but we're all alone here and the making up part is always worth it," he grinned and she agreed by sealing his lips with hers.

"We're ruining my paperwork," she mumbled when they kneeled down on the floor while she unbuttoned his shirt. He already had her out of her grey jacket and was working on the zipper of her dress.

"I don't care," he replied and placed wet kisses down her neck until he met her collar bone. "At least we won't have rug burns," he added and kissed her again, more passionate than before.

**TBC**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20: Confessions of jailbirds**

"Nice to see you again, Cam," Perry greeted when he and Michelle arrived at the baseball field.

"Good to see you, Perry. It's been a while," Cam smiled at him and briefly hugged Michelle to greet her as well.

"Hodgins playing?" Michelle wanted to know and sat down next to Cam on the bench in the bleachers.

"No, he's just getting us something to drink. Arastoo is playing though," she replied.

"The Arab intern?"

"Iranian, yes," Cam nodded.

"I think I met him once, but I'm not sure," Michelle shrugged.

"You want something to drink, too?" Perry asked her.

"Sure," she shrugged. "Soda please," she smiled then and her boyfriend pecked her on the lips before he left for the drink stand.

"That was weird," Cam smiled awkwardly when Perry had left, referring to the kiss.

"Now you know how I feel," Michelle countered.

"Oh no, totally other weirdness," Cam shook her head. "I know how I felt when I saw my parents kiss- nothing compared to seeing your kid kiss someone."

"I'll tell you if I agree or not, once I'm in the same situation," her daughter told her.

"Fifty years from now," Cam mumbled and Michelle laughed.

"What's fifty years from now?" Hodgins asked when he came back that moment with a bottle of ice tea and a can of Coke in his hands.

"You'll be old and grey," the teen teased him.

"Statistically I'll even be dead," he shrugged unimpressed and stood in front of Michelle. "Now scoot," he told her.

"No, I wanna sit close to Cam," she shook her head and playfully hugged Cam's arm.

"You have Perry to snuggle with, Cam is mine," Hodgins disagreed and tried to get in between the two women.

"Why don't you just sit down here," Cam asked him and scooted a bit closer to Michelle, so Hodgins could squish in between herself and the banister.

"Fine," he huffed and sat down with a pout. He placed the drinks on the floor and then suddenly grabbed Cam by the waist and pulled her into his lap before she knew what was happening. "Ha!" he announced his victory to the world and hugged her tight, then placed a kiss on her cheek.

"Is this even legal here?" she asked him, turning her head to the side so she could see him.

"I don't care," he said without a care in the world and hugged her closer to him.

"You will care when the policeman come and arrest us," she grinned.

"Nah, I'd buy us out," he disagreed, buried his face in her neck and breathed her in.

"Hodgins, I have to get up," Cam told him, feeling a bit uncomfortable because she felt the eyes of the others on her.

"No, you stay," he said and refused to loosen his arms around her.

"And you two wonder why I don't want to go out with you anymore," Michelle rolled her eyes.

"You have your boyfriend here as well," Hodgins pointed out.

"Just think about what you'd do if we acted like this?" she asked Cam and waved one finger in the general direction of them. Cam only scrunched up her face, slid sideways off Hodgins lap and sat down on the bench again.

"We're gonna make up for it later," she told Hodgins quietly, but not quiet enough.

"One day, one day I'll take revenge for each and every comment like that, that I had to listen to," Michelle deadpanned.

"You wanna walk home again?" Cam asked her and raised one eyebrow. It was enough to shut her up.

"Here," Perry said and handed Michelle her drink, then sat down next to her.

"Thanks," she replied and moved closer to him.

"There he is," Hodgins exclaimed when he saw Arastoo walking onto the field with his team. "Woohoo, go Arastoo!" he yelled and Arastoo replied by laughing and shaking his head at Hodgins' crazy antics. "Sorry," Hodgins added quietly when he saw Cam's look that said more than a thousand words.

* * *

"And now we're gonna go and celebrate your victory," Hodgins said enthusiastically and patted Arastoo on the back. "You're in?" he turned to Michelle and Perry. The teens looked at each other.

"Sure," they both finally agreed.

"So, where are we going?" Arastoo asked and Hodgins rubbed his hands together.

"Wherever you go, you have to drop me off at home first, because I need to change and get ready for my girls night out," Cam interrupted their plans.

"That's tonight?" Hodgins asked disappointed.

"I told you about it," Cam pointed out.

"I know, I just didn't realize it was this weekend," he replied. "That sucks," he added.

"You can celebrate with Arastoo, Michelle and Perry. I trust you not to give them any booze," she said.

"Oh please, either Perry or I am going to end up driving. Remember when you introduced him to your family the first time?" Michelle couldn't help pointing out.

"I don't drink alcohol," Arastoo told her immediately.

"I'm not gonna get wasted alone," Hodgins huffed. "How about we have a BBQ at home?" he suggested.

"Your home or my home?" Cam wanted to know warily.

"Our home, babe, our home," he corrected her with a smile.

"Not yet. And I don't want the smell of grilled meat hanging in my living room. Do it at your place out on the patio," she decided for him.

"Ok. I've got the bigger place anyway," he said and tried to get back at her.

"Hodgins," Cam only sighed and made the others laugh.

"You think Paul will come if I invite him?" he asked her, ignoring her comment.

"And this is where I draw the line," Michelle protested.

"He's a nice guy. Lunch was fun last week. And you're not going to him anymore anyway." Hodgins couldn't understand what her problem was.

"Will you please explain it to him while I hide?" Michelle asked Cam embarrassed, because Perry was standing next to her and Arastoo was following the conversation as well. It wasn't a teen dream to have the first Ob gyn visit discussed with her boyfriend, her mother's boyfriend and their male colleague.

"No, I won't. We have to hurry, I don't want to be late," Cam shook her head and pushed Hodgins forward by his shoulders so they would finally start moving and not just stand around discussing.

* * *

"Now I'm really disappointed Cam. I thought I'd finally get to meet that boyfriend of yours," her friend Emilia said and changed the topic to the one thing Cam had been waiting for all evening. Cam and Emilia had chosen a restaurant by the lake and were sitting out on the terrace, overlooking the water. The restaurant was posh and most other guests were either businessmen or couples, but they didn't mind. Both women enjoyed the fact that they had worked their way up and could afford going to expensive restaurants if they wanted to for no obvious reason, other than that they were in the mood for it. The long white tablecloths with a single white candle on every table created a nice atmosphere and the dark teak furniture went well with it. It reminded Cam a bit of the furniture out on Jack's patio.

"Nah, he's celebrating a baseball victory with a friend at home. And to be honest, I just need an evening to myself every now and then," she replied and took a sip of her water.

"Uh oh, already grey clouds on the horizon?" Emilia asked and looked worried.

"Not at all. It's just, I was alone for so long and first Michelle came and then Jack. Guess it just takes a while getting used to never being alone," Cam smiled at her friend.

"So tell me about Jack. All I know so far is that you work together. And I expect details on everything," her friend stressed and made Cam laugh.

"We work together. He's an entomologist, botanist and geologist at the Jeffersonian and technically I'm his boss- however he has never really learned to respect rules and considers himself a rebel," she started.

"Three doctorates? Holy moley," Emilia muttered.

"Seeley calls my team 'squints' and considers them all to be nut jobs... which might fit mostly," she admitted and her friend started laughing again. "Jack is four years younger than me, a bit taller..." she wasn't sure how to go on.

"Attractive?"

"Absolutely," Cam grinned. "Built, blue eyes, mischievous smile, always up to no good."

"Good in bed?" Emilia asked bluntly and dug into her desert that the waiter had just brought.

"Oh yeah," Cam nodded and bit her lower lip to keep herself from smiling too brightly, but it wasn't working.

"Ok, no wonder you're moving in with him," her friend commented. "Did he drop the big question yet?"

"Which one do you mean? The one followed by a big rock or the one followed by diapers and an obligation that lasts a lifetime?" Cam wanted clarification.

"The first one. After what you told me on the phone I guess it's a bit late for the second one."

"No, he hasn't. First we move in together and see how it goes," Cam replied.

"Anything new on the diaper front? I notice you're only drinking water," Emily pointed out.

"No, nothing new. I just drink water because I still have troubles with the kidney medication. I have a headache and can barely keep anything down as it is, I don't want to add booze to the mix."

"You should really get that checked out, Cam. It's not normal and you shouldn't take pills that you can't stomach. I'm surprised I even have to tell you."

"I know. But my doctor's on vacation right now and I don't want to go somewhere else and tell my story all over again. I've already been to three doctors since that bastard poisoned me," Cam shook her head. "If Jack hadn't found out what poison he had given me and delivered the antidote to the hospital I wouldn't be sitting here today," she sighed then.

"It was Jack who saved your life back then? How romantic," Emilia laughed.

"Totally," Cam snorted and laughed as well. "Back then I didn't even think about ending up with him one day. And yet, here I am," she shrugged.

"He was an idiot back then?"

"No, he was taken," Cam laughed. "His ex-girlfriend works on my team as well," she added.

"Juicy," her friend commented. "She giving you trouble?"

"Sometimes more, sometimes less. Jack just really needs to talk to her and tell her that she needs to stop waiting for him."

"Ok, I'm done. Where to next?" Emilia said and pushed the empty plate away from her.

"There's this small Jazz club a few streets from here?" Cam suggested.

"Sounds good," her friend nodded.

"Ok, I'm just gonna go to the bathroom before we leave," Cam said and got up, then suddenly groaned and grabbed the table for support.

"Cami, you're ok?" Emilia asked worriedly and got up, walked around the table and steadied her friend. When she was closer she saw that all the color had drained from Cam's face and she still swayed slightly.

"I just got up too fast," Cam pressed out and opened her eyes. She closed them again quickly when she realized that everything was still spinning.

"You have that often?"

"The pills are messing with my blood pressure. Yesterday I nearly crashed head first into my desk at work," she replied and opened her eyes again. The world stood still again and she loosened her grip on the table.

"Josie is still working at Memorial?" Emilia asked.

"I think so, haven't heard otherwise."

"We'll substitute the Jazz club with our friend the endocrinologist," her friend decided.

"It's Saturday evening, she most likely won't be in," Cam protested.

"Then she surely has colleagues," Emilia countered.

"I don't want to tell the whole story again," Cam repeated what she had said earlier.

"Then I'll tell it. You want to call Jack before we go over?"

"No, I'll tell him if there is anything to tell. I doubt she'll be able to tell me anything other than what my doctor already has," Cam had enough energy again to roll her eyes.

"Alright. I'll pay the bill while you go to the bathroom," Emilia said and waved for the waiter while Cam walked off, grumbling to herself about her bossy friend.

* * *

At the same time Hodgins, Arastoo, Michelle, Perry and Paul were sitting out on his patio, the huge BBQ grill standing on the side. Hodgins and Paul were nursing their beers while the rest had soda or water.

"You're being quiet Dr. H.," Michelle pointed out when she noticed that Hodgins had barely said anything for at least an hour.

"Mmh?" he looked up and she realized that not only had he been quiet but he hadn't been paying attention to their guests either.

"You seem a million miles away," Arastoo put it in the right words.

"I'm just wondering because Cam hasn't called yet," he shrugged.

"Oh my God! You're worse than I thought. She's been gone for three hours, not three months," Michelle laughed.

"Cam always calls," he insisted and Arastoo and Paul had to smile as well.

"Obviously not when she's out with an old_ female_ friend. Bet they're too busy having fun."

"Not helping here, Michelle," he pouted.

"From my story you should know that Cam might attract attention, but she lets you know she's taken," Paul tried to calm Hodgins and the two clicked their bottles against each other and took another sip of their beer.

"Paul asked Cam out when he met her," Michelle told Arastoo when she saw his questioning look.

"No way," the intern started to laugh.

"That thing was doomed anyway, since he's your doctor," Perry laughed as well and teased Michelle. He thought it was hilarious that her gynecologist had asked her mother out.

"Was," Michelle told him with a stern look. "Sorry Paul, but that'd just be too skeevy," she told the doctor when he raised his eyebrows upon hearing that he had lost a patient.

"I understand Michelle," he grinned.

"Anyone up for a late round of basketball?" Hodgins asked then and seemed to be in a better mood.

"I'm the referee," Michelle decided and the men accepted her choice, making teams with Arastoo and Paul as guests and Hodgins and Perry as hosts.

* * *

When Cam wasn't back around three am, Hodgins got worried. He knew she was out with a friend, but it wasn't like her to be gone that long and not call him at least. At 4 he was worried enough to still be up and he decided to call her. At first there was no reply and he knew that it was possible that she just wasn't hearing her phone ring.

"Hello," came the sleepy reply after the tenth ring.

"Hey, where are you? Everything alright?" he asked her, confused why she sounded like she had just woken up.

"You woke me up," she told him to his big surprise. "We're at my place, sleeping… or I was sleeping until you woke me up," she mumbled.

"I was worried, I thought you'd come back to my place and sleep here," he replied and felt relieved that she was ok.

"No, we went to Nicole's and ate something, then we stopped at the hospital because we wanted to say hi to some old colleagues and then we came back to my place, talked and watched old movies," Cam let him know.

"Oh, ok, then go back to sleep baby. I'll see you tomorrow," he said and smiled, because she still sounded so drowsy.

"Mmh 'kay," she replied, like she sometimes did when she woke up while he carried her to bed when she had fallen asleep on the couch again. "Love you," she added and then he heard the click in the line and knew she had hung up.

* * *

Jack was warm and comfortable in his bed and slowly drifting into consciousness as he felt something touching his hair. He popped one eye open and came face to face with his girlfriend. A smile crept on his face while he blinked against the light when he saw her lying on her side in his bed, softly combing with her fingers through his hair.

"Good morning," she smiled back when she saw that his eyes were open.

"Morning," he mumbled sleepily and pressed his head to her palm.

"Emilia and I came bearing breakfast. We set it up on the patio," she informed him and wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body to his.

"What time is it?" he asked her and stroked a lose strand of her hair behind her ear.

"Shortly before one," she told him and kissed him softly.

"Mmmh," he moaned into the kiss. "You think your friend would mind if we show up in an hour?" he asked her and rolled them over so he was on top. Her hands were in his hair again while he teased the soft skin behind her ear with his lips and teeth.

"Keep doing that and I don't care," she sighed, brought one hand down and snuck it under his shirt, rubbing her hand over the skin of his chest.

"I have to take a shower and brush my teeth," he replied and placed another kiss on her throat. "But you smell so good," he added quietly and then sucked on her skin. "And you taste even better." Cam pulled his head back up to hers and kissed him again. They both got caught up in the kiss and she smiled into it when she felt the evidence of what she was doing to him against her.

"I want to stay here with you," she admitted when he broke the kiss, one of his hands underneath her shirt, the other on her butt, pressing her hips into his.

"What brought this on?" he asked her, wondering why she was getting them all worked up although she knew her friend was waiting for them.

"Missed you last night," she said and leaned up to kiss him again. He pulled back, then pressed a kiss against her forehead.

"Your friend, babe. We'll continue this later when she's gone," he told her and rolled off of her.

"Later," she sighed and slowly got out of bed as well and left the bedroom to return to the patio where her friend was waiting.

* * *

"Your friend is nice. I like her," Hodgins said later that day when he was lying in bed with his naked girlfriend.

"Me too. Although at the moment I'm happy we're alone," she grinned and kissed him.

"I just always pictured her differently when you talked about her," he admitted when they came up for air again.

"People always gave us strange looks. I was the skinny, dark one who was bossier than most expected and Emilia was always a bit overweight, had short blonde hair and gets sunburned just thinking about the sun," Cam replied.

"Who did you meet last night at the hospital?" he remembered that they had been seeing another friend.

"Josie. She's a few years older than we are and Emilia always got along better with her than I did." She kept playing with his fuzzy chest hair while she talked, her head tucked underneath his chin.

"I'm happy you had a nice time." He hugged her to him and buried his nose in her hair.

"Last night while we were at the hospital Josie did some tests concerning my medication," she admitted and he looked at her. "She prescribed me something else, something newer and milder. She says that I should be able to be without meds in two weeks."

"Really? That's awesome," he smiled relieved, because he had been worried about her and the side effects she had to deal with.

"I won't be healed. But until further notice I should be fine," she smiled back.

"Is that why you're in such a good mood and so enthusiastic?" his smile got sultry.

"I'm not tired anymore. You don't like it?" she raised her eyebrows and turned around so she was lying not on her side anymore but on her stomach looking down at him.

"I really like it," he stressed and kissed her passionately. When his tongue glided into her mouth and found hers Cam was surprised again how good he tasted and how much his kiss excited her. This never seemed to lose intensity and made her tingly all over. Soon enough she stopped thinking altogether though and simply enjoyed his full attention on this beautiful Sunday afternoon.

* * *

A few days later Cam walked up to the platform slightly before noon. She knew Hodgins and Angela were still gone, mainly because she had ordered them out in the field together. Now that she felt better with the new medication and wasn't tired all the time, her zest for action and taking action had come back. She was sick of walking on eggshells all day around the lab and she wanted the situation with Angela resolved as soon as possible. She was aware that Jack was a bit afraid of the talk and kept making up excuses such as that he hadn't seen Angela alone. A two hour drive should be enough however to provide an opportunity to talk.

"Who do you wanna start with? The wicked witch of the east over here... east right?" she asked Brennan when she saw the two bodies on the tables.

"Right. She wore the red shoes," Clark Edison, the intern of the week provided, knowing that his boss most likely had no idea what they were talking about and couldn't help Cam out on that one.

"We should start with the more recent remains," Brennan joined the conversation, ignoring Cam's remarks.

"Which are sealed up. What is it with this job and corpses encased in mystery wrap?" Cam said as she put on some rubber gloves.

"Dr. Hodgins says its most likely Polystyrene ceiling isolation that melted in the fire and coated the body," Clark told them what he had been told before. Neither Cam nor Brennan had spoken to Hodgins or Angela since they had started the investigation at the crime scene.

"Could he explain the sparkle?" Brennan asked and pointed to the sparkling parts of the coating.

"Some resting bulbs exploded afterwards shattering over the Polystyrene," Clark replied.

"Perhaps you and Dr. Hodgins can find a way to unseal the remains," his boss requested and the intern nodded.

"Let me see if I can get in here," Cam said and picked up an otoscope from the instrument table. Carefully she looked down the nasal cavity.

"Wire ligatures around the wrists indicate foul play," Clark said while he looked at the x-rays he had taken before. Brennan was leaning with Cam over the head, although they both knew she wouldn't see anything through the otoscope.

"No evidence of smoke inhalation. She was dead before the fire," Cam told them what she had found and then looked over to the other table, where the skeleton with the long grey hair and the dress lay. "Now that one is just... weird," she commented.

"These Bones were found in a steel wardrobe. It preserved her in the fire," her female colleague let her know, because Cam hadn't been at the crime scene this time. The information that they had found a skeleton hadn't suggested that she was needed at all in this case. Yet, here she was. Though, she had to admit that she was more involved this time as the head of forensics than as a coroner. She couldn't help much with skeletons.

"Uh, female, also Caucasian, forty to fifty years old," Clark provided the data.

"There is evidence of spinal kyphosis which would have given her a hunched posture," Brennan went on. "This stain here on the forehead is the result of contact with copper. I've seen this before in disinterred bodies, because of the copper hardware on the coffins."

"So someone robbed a grave, strung together a skeleton and stuck it in a wedding dress?" Cam summed it up, so she could be sure she got it right.

"That's a reasonable conclusion," the anthropologist said as if it was a normal case. Compared to the other crazy stuff they had had it probably was. Cam would just never get used to it.

"These are greenstick fractures, extreme force as supplied to the chest and there's a clean edged indentation of the spinous processes L2 and L3," Clark pointed to the injuries.

"Thoracic crushing combined with the puncture wound. This woman was subjected to a kind of torture that was used in the 17th century," Brennan told them with a hint of excitement in her voice.

"Torture?" Cam asked shocked. She surely hadn't seen this one coming.

"These injuries are consistent with a form of punishment used during the Salem witch trials," Brennan upped the ante.

"She was a witch?" Cam said weirded out. Wasn't one witch in the lab enough for a lifetime, even if it had turned out that the last one had been fake?

* * *

During the drive to the crime scene had mainly passed in silence beside idle chit chat, Hodgins and Angela felt more comfortable and talked more on the ride back to Washington.

"You know what I think? Cam sent us both to the crime scene because of the tension between us," Angela said while she fiddled with the camera.

"Tension? There's no tension between us," Hodgins denied. He didn't want to talk about this now in a car on the way back to work. It could go in a dangerous direction and he didn't feel up to it at that moment.

"Yeah, at first I thought it was because I'm suddenly, I don't know, available again. And then I thought maybe it was because you think that I treated Wendell badly," Angela went on and he was glad when he realized that she was just talking about the tension between him and her and not the tension between him, Cam and her.

"Hold on, Wendell said that it was totally mutual. He said that you are wonderful," he corrected her. Wendell had never complained about Angela and he needed her to know that.

"I'm not sure how I feel about you two discussing me," she replied and he could understand her in that area.

"Not discussing you. Complimenting you," he said and she gave him a look that clearly asked 'seriously'. "Ok, fine. No more compliments. You don't look good today, your smile is ordinary at best and it is not cool that we finally get to work together again in the field." he grinned at her, trying humor as a way to get out of the discussion.

"Ok, that's fine. I can live with that," she nodded and then turned her attention back to her digital camera while he kept looking at road."You know this symbol is very creepy on this chimney," she said.

"Alright, let me see," he agreed when she kept looking between him and the camera screen. She leaned over to him and held the camera up so he had to glance just to his right.

"See?" she asked him.

"Oh, yeah. Could be a lot of things," he agreed and looked at the camera a bit too long. The car suddenly started beeping and he quickly turned the wheel so he would go back into his lane. "Whoa. What is that?" he asked Angela.

"Oh the Prius helps you stay in your lane. It's kind of cool," Angela informed him. She had taken the new cars of the Jeffersonian more than once; he usually used his own car or the bigger and shinier cars of the Institute.

"It is cool. Let's do that again," he grinned and pulled over again so he went out of the line, the car beeping again. A second later they heard a siren starting up behind him. When he glanced into the rearview mirror he saw a police car following them."Oh that is not cool," he added.

"I didn't even see him there. That's pretty sneaky. Pull over. I'll pour on the charm," Angela grinned and he pulled over. When he had stopped and looked into the mirror again he saw that the guy looked familiar.

"It's Sheriff Abrahams from the crime scene," he said when he realized who it was.

"Oh," Angela just said.

"Oh perfect," he agreed relieved.

"Good afternoon sir, I observed you crossing the double yellow. How much did you have to drink today?" the sheriff asked him when he was standing in front of the driver's side.

"Sheriff Abrahams, it's us. Hodgins and Angela, we just left the crime scene, we're heading up north, dropping off our stuff at the lab," Hodgins said, thinking the sheriff didn't recognize them.

"I know Dr. Hodgins, I'm just following the law. Have you had anything to drink today?" the sheriff insisted.

"Hi Sheriff. Listen, uhm, I really do like a man in uniform who loves his job," Angela flirted and winked at him."So, uh, neither one of us has had anything to drink, no," she added when he didn't react in any way to her flirting.

"Hello Miss Montenegro, but I'm afraid I need the driver to respond," he replied and Hodgins could feel the irritation rise inside of him.

"Yeah, yeah, I've had several martinis, some absinth and a barrel of met," Hodgins said sarcastically.

"Your license and registration please," the sheriff ignored his tone and obviously believed what he had just said.

"He was kidding. He is just... being an idiot," Angela said and gave Jack a disapproving look.

"You too please," the sheriff requested calmly and now Angela looked just as disbelievingly and pissed off as Hodgins. The charm was gone.

* * *

Shortly after four in the afternoon Cam decided that she should check on Hodgins. She hadn't heard anything from him since he had left with Angela that morning and she guessed that he might be angry with her for setting him up like that. When she looked into the Ookey Room she was surprised to find Dr. Edison in there and not Hodgins.

"Oh, you're not Hodgins," she pointed out unnecessarily. In front of the intern was a construct of several plastic cups and stuff that dripped into them.

"No, he's not here and I can't wait any longer," he replied.

"Wait for what?" she wanted to know.

"Dr. Brennan wants me to identify the best solvent to remove Polystyrene from the bones. So I put myself in the mindset of Dr. Hodgins," he said and Cam wasn't sure if he had actually lost his mind or this just made it look that way. Hodgins might be nuts but he wasn't completely out of his mind- which Clark looked like at that moment. "And came up with this experiment," he said proudly and looked at his construction.

Cam opened her mouth and at first had to hold back the words that were threatening to spill. She didn't want to anger him. "I have a new appreciation for Dr. Hodgins," she said finally, because it was the mildest version of the thoughts running through her head.

"Ok. This device fills each Polystyrene cup with kerosene, propylene, turpentine, hydrochloric acid and acetone," he started to explain and Cam still had the disbelieving look on her face. He opened the taps and the liquid poured into the cups, the first one starting to melt. "Oh, acetone," he said excitedly just when the melting cup made the cone underneath fall over onto the next one and ruin the whole construction.

"It's not like Hodgins to be late. Could you come and get me as soon as he shows up?" she told him unimpressed by the mess he had made. She had a meeting in a few minutes and she was starting to worry about Hodgins. "And I think the acetone is eating through your shoes," she told Clark before she turned around and left, leaving him alone with the chaos and a melting shoe.

* * *

It was already ten at night and Hodgins and Angela were still incarcerated by the sheriff, because of the outstanding bench warrants. Hodgins couldn't believe all of this. They had called Brennan hours ago and still no one had showed up for them so far. Had Brennan not told Cam where he was? Or had something happened to Cam on the way to them? He was worried, but most of all he was pissed off.

The bench he was lying on was uncomfortable and though he tried to get some rest he just couldn't sleep. The bright light didn't help and the tension between him and Angela could be cut with a knife by now.

"That is the hardest bench that I have ever sat on in my life," Angela complained and he opened his eyes and sat up. He couldn't sleep anyway.

"Sat on? Slept on!" he pointed out.

"My shoulders are killing me," Angela said and rubbed her shoulders, trying to make the pain go away.

"Tell me about it," he said and watched her. He knew she wouldn't be in a better mood if her back was aching. Who knew how long they had to stay in this cell, because so far no one had come for them. "Come here," he said and decided that he would help her.

"Why?" she asked warily as if he would attack her.

"I'll give you a little rub, you know, work out the kinks," he shrugged. She gave him the disbelieving look again and he couldn't help but be amused by it. What was she thinking? He'd rape her in this cell? "Are you really that mad at me that you don't want a little massage?" he asked her.

"Ok .Only because I hurt," Angela granted him the honor of giving her a massage. She sat down on his bench, pulled her hair to the side and held it with one hand while he started his massage. It only took her a few seconds until she started moaning. The appreciative moans from the beginning soon turned into something that made him grin and shake his head at her. He couldn't remember her being this loud during sex, so why was she doing this now? "Oh god yes," she groaned loudly.

"God is a little formal, Hodgins is fine," he couldn't help but tease when she kept moaning. He was immensely amused by it and knew he would tease her about it for a while.

"Looks to me like you two are doing just fine in here," he suddenly heard Cam's voice and jumped back from Angela and took his hands off her. It took him a moment to understand that she was really here. At first he was shocked that she found them in this catchy situation, but then he was just glad to see her. She had that half smile on her face that could either mean that she was amused or that she wasn't amused at all and was trying to hide how pissed she was. He surely would find out soon.

"Cam!" he exclaimed and hurried to the bars in front of which she stood. "Hey! So?" he asked her and tried to reach out to her. But she kept her distance so he gripped the bars. "You spring us?" he asked her hopefully.

"These two aren't exactly Bonnie and Clyde. Can't you let them go?" Cam turned to the sheriff who was standing beside her. When she asked him Hodgins realized that she was really amused and not angry.

"Not until the judge gets here," Sheriff Abrahams replied.

"Well, I'll post bail, pay the fine, whatever," she told the sheriff and looked at Hodgins, noticing his pleading eyes. "We need them to solve this murder."

"You have the evidence and they could be reached here any time to assist," the sheriff said and Hodgins and Angela looked shocked at each other. It was when they exchanged an awkward look that Cam realized these two still hadn't talked.

"Don't you think you're being a little… rigid?" Cam asked the older man.

"You are a law enforcement professional, are you not Ma'am?" he asked her and took her aside, out of earshot of the other two, who could only watch from afar.

"Yes."

"Then you know that the law can't be twisted to our will or chaos will ensue. I mean, where does it end? Today a seemingly minor bench warrant, tomorrow we overlook another piece of paper and a murderer goes free," he said and Cam looked surprised.

"Wow. You are like the last upright man in America," she said stunned.

"Well, I wouldn't say that," he replied and picked up a box from the desk nearby."But I'm a good sheriff and I love the law."

"That's very impressive Sheriff," Cam told him. She was truly impressed by his idealistic look on things. However it was the idea forming in her head that kept her from pushing the issue further.

"Oh my God, he's getting to her!" Hodgins said shocked, able to read the look on her face even from a distance.

"I'm sure the judge will be coming soon," she told them apologetically.

"Oh no, no, no, no, no. You're kidding, right?" Angela exclaimed, while Hodgins knew that it was fruitless.

"Sorry, it was like arguing with one of the founding fathers. I've got the evidence, we'll talk, kay?" she told them and then hurried off, before the look on Hodgins face would cause her to rethink her decision.

"Oh my god!" Angela nearly yelled.

"No!" Hodgins actually yelled at her.

"Cam!"

"No!" he called again, unable to believe it.

"See you guys later!" she called when she was already out of sight and Hodgins was sure he had heard a smile in her voice.

"Hey!" he called one last time, but there was no reply, she was gone.

"I can't believe this!" Angela said stunned.

"She didn't even kiss me hello or goodbye," he said equally stunned and plopped down on the bench he had occupied before.

"Oh please," Angela groaned annoyed and sat down on the other bench. Hodgins lay back down like he had done before he had given Angela the massage.

"Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars," he sang quietly, because it suddenly popped into his head.

"You know that song? Didn't know you listened to Eminem," Angela said from the other side.

"Michelle always sings it. And it's the B.O.B. version she loves," he corrected her and then fell silent, thinking about Cam and Michelle and what they would do without him at home that night and why Cam had left him there in this cell.

* * *

"Pizza? Where's Hodgins?" Michelle asked when she came home that evening and found Cam setting the table for two.

"In jail," Cam grinned.

"Come again," Michelle replied and sat down on the edge of the table.

"In jail," Cam said again, her grin getting wider.

"What did he do? Turn other people into smurfs?" Michelle guessed.

"No, drove out of the lane and had an outstanding bench warrant when the sheriff got him," Cam replied and lightly slapped Michelle's butt so she would get off the table.

"For what?" the teen giggled.

"Running from the police after a free speech demonstration eight years ago," Cam told her.

"He sure knows how to live the wild life," Michelle laughed this time.

"Oh yeah, he sure does," Cam agreed, thinking about Angela's obscene moaning in the cell when he had given her a backrub. It had certainly been over the top and she wondered what Angela had wanted to achieve with it. Turn him on?

"When will he get out?" her daughter asked and brought her out of her thoughts.

"Tomorrow at the latest."

"You couldn't bail him out?"

"If I had really wanted, maybe. But it'll give him and Angela time to talk," she grinned at her daughter.

"Oooh, you're evil. I like it," Michelle grinned back and took a bite of her pizza.

* * *

"We'd like to get out of here if that's what you mean," Angela said the next afternoon when Cam asked them at the end of the video conference how they were doing.

"I'm sure you will. Thanks guys," Cam said, aware that Hodgins had been staring at her the whole time. And Clark ended the transmission before either of them could say another word.

"Another round?" Hodgins asked Angela and held up the penny before they each fell back into silence and depression.

"Yes, 32," Angela said when she had hit the cup with the penny again. She got off the floor and walked to the cup. Hodgins got up as well to stretch before it was his turn again. When Angela turned around with the penny in her hand she looked at him, the smile on her face getting smaller and wistful.

"What?" Hodgins asked and looked questioningly at her while she kept staring at him.

"Do you ever wonder what happened to us?" Angela asked once she had gathered her courage. The question had been haunting her for a long time. "On the day we broke up," she clarified and Hodgins' smile vanished.

"Yeah, every day I ran through that conversation word for word," he admitted, his eyes becoming sad at the memory of the pain endured in the past.

"Me too," Angela said and he knew the time had come. They would finally talk about them, about their break up and everything else. After all this time. After all the relationships they had had and the one tentative try to get back together months ago.

"You said 'All you had to do was trust me'," he repeated her words from back then, still remembering them.

"And you said ' Hey, you're the one who's leaving'," she repeated his, surprising him by knowing his exact words still.

"And then you said 'You're the one who isn't stopping me'," he went on.

"And I left," Angela recounted what had happened back then.

"Yeah," he nodded and remembered the moment, realizing once again that it didn't hurt anymore thinking about it.

"Right," Angela agreed quietly, remembering as well. "Though I wish I hadn't," she added then louder and looked at him half expectantly, half fearful.

"For a long time it was the biggest regret of my life that I didn't stop you," he told her honestly.

"Yeah, what was up with that?" she asked him and walked over to him.

"I... just... panicked, I'd lost faith that I could sustain that kind of happiness," he told her the truth of what had been wrong with him back then.

"Mmh, you talked to Sweets?" she smiled knowingly.

"The kid's got the goods," he chuckled.

"Yeah, it was like we were both playing chicken and then we ... we both swerved," Angela put it in her own words what had happened to them.

"Yeah, what we should have done is crash right into each other," he knew it better now.

"At the speed of light," she agreed, her voice slightly husky. Suddenly she leaned forward to kiss him and instinctively Jack reacted, placing his hands on her shoulders and stopping her.

"Ange, no," he shook his head.

"I... but you said... Jack, I love you. I still love you. I never stopped," she told him nearly desperately. He looked at her calmly and kept his hands on her shoulders, running his thumbs calmingly over her exposed skin there.

"We were both stupid back then and maybe we shouldn't have broken up the way we did and maybe we could have both stopped it, Ange, but I'm with Cam now," he insisted and looked her in the eyes.

"Do you really love her? The way you loved me?" she asked him, tearing up.

"I love her more than I ever loved anything or anyone," he made himself clear and it hurt him when he saw Angela flinch. "I love you like a friend or like a sister now, but that's it. I'm sorry, Angie," he told her and wiped a tear off her cheek.

"It's not your fault. I shouldn't have left back then," she sniffed. He didn't reply, instead he pulled her in his arms and held her for a moment. "I thought maybe it was just to pass time until we decided what we wanted. I always hoped that we'd get back together one day," she cried against his shoulder. "I liked Wendell and Roxy and the others... but they weren't you. I never had again what we had."

"One day you'll find someone again, I'm sure of that," he told her.

"Would it make sense if I waited for you? Like you waited for me…" she asked him and pulled back so she could look him in the eyes.

"No, it wouldn't," he said and took her hand to lead her to the bench. He pulled her down with him so they were sitting side by side. "If I have anything to say Cam and I are the real deal. And you shouldn't settle for being second best. You're too amazing for that," he said and kept her hand in his.

"Then why did you stop loving me?" He had never seen her so sad before.

"I don't think I ever stopped, it just turned from romantic love into friendship."

"Are you always happy with Cam? Is that it?" she asked, trying to understand why he didn't want her anymore.

"No, I'm not," he shook his head and her eyes got wide. "We fight sometimes and sometimes we annoy each other or Michelle does something… or something else comes our way. It's not about always being happy, Ange, maybe that was our real mistake. It's about contentment. If you're really comfortable and content with the person you're with no matter what comes your way then you've found the right person, I think," he shrugged. "And I found that with Cam. It's the feeling that will stay, even when the romance and the butterflies are gone after some years."

"I didn't realize you love her that much," Angela said quietly. "I hope she feels the same way about you."

"I'm fairly certain she does," he nodded with a small smile.

"How do you know?" she asked him. She had been certain he still loved her and it turned out she had been wrong.

"We're moving in together and we're gonna have a baby together," he let her know, her hand still in his.

"Cam's pregnant again?" Angela asked wide eyed.

"Not yet, but hopefully soon," he clarified. "At the moment she's having trouble with her kidney medication again, so it might be better that she's not pregnant yet."

"Wow," Angela said quietly and looked down to her feet.

"Yeah," he agreed and then wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him. She let her head drop to his shoulder and he placed a kiss on her forehead.

"I think I'll always love you," she admitted quietly.

"And I'll always love you. Just maybe not the way you want me to," he replied just as quiet.

"I'll learn to live with it and wait for the right guy to be content with," she told him and when he looked down at her he saw that she smiled a bit.

"The judge is here," the sheriff told them a moment later and they realized they weren't alone anymore. Slowly they got up to finally get out of that cell.

* * *

"You gonna tell Cam about what happened? Our talk, I mean," Angela asked Hodgins when they walked into the Jeffersonian. The ride back to Washington had passed in silence; both had been deep in thought about their talk and the things that had been said.

"Some of it, yeah. She needs to know," he nodded and took a deep breath when the glass doors to the lab slid open.

"Angela, Hodgins. We solved the case even without you," Brennan told them when she saw them. She was standing on the platform with Clark, packing up the two sets of remains.

"Hey, we assisted via video conference," Hodgins protested.

"I know and your help was appreciated," Brennan nodded.

"Cam still around?" he asked the two on the platform.

"She should be in her office," Brennan nodded while Clark rolled his eyes.

"Ok, then see you later," Hodgins said with a wave and walked off.

"Hey, Bren, you have time for a coffee?" he heard Angela ask as he walked away.

"Good afternoon you traitor," Jack greeted Cam when he walked into the autopsy room.

"Hey, jailbird. They let you out?" she asked with a smile, clearly amused. "Or did you bomb your way out?"

"No, not that I wasn't tempted after my girlfriend left me in there, rotting alive for God knows how long," he said and sat down on the edge of her desk.

"I would have bailed you out at some point," she laughed at his dramatic speech, then leaned up and kissed him. "Welcome back."

"Thank you," he said, then stood up and took her hand. She followed him with raised eyebrows over to the couch in her office and let him pull her down on it, so they were sitting side by side.

"Something wrong?" she asked him. "The sheriff found any more charges against you?"

"Angela and I, we talked," he came right to the point.

"Ok. Should I be scared?" she asked him nervously.

"We were both right, she's still in love with me and she wants us to get back together. She asked me if she should wait for me," he told her while looking her in the eyes.

"Ok, now you're really making me nervous," Cam said, not sure what to make of the situation. She knew that he wasn't in love with Angela anymore, but the way he talked scared her.

"I told her something that I should have told you first, and I'm sorry for that," he went on.

"What?" she asked quietly, not sure if she really wanted to hear it.

"I've never loved anyone or anything the way I love you," he said and then smiled a bit, knowing he had tortured her long enough.

"Idiot," was her instant reaction to his teasing and she swatted his shoulder. Then however she slung her arms around his neck and kissed him heatedly.

"That your way of saying 'I love you, too'?" he grinned when they broke the kiss.

"No, that was my way of saying 'Thanks for talking to Angela'. The 'I love you, too' speech will follow later, at home," she grinned and teased him by running a hand over his shirt-clad stomach.

"Can't wait," he replied huskily and kissed her again to give her a preview of what would be coming. He didn't even realize that she didn't mind when his hand snuck under her yellow shirt to touch her skin. Making out in her office wasn't professional and they could get caught any moment- but she didn't mind at all.

**TBC**


	21. Chapter 21

Thanks to Gianna for betaing!

**Chapter 21: Nightmares and moods**

"...The Gravedigger case finally begins today with an evidentiary hearing. The defendant, prominent federal prosecutor, Heather Taffet, will be defending herself against multiple charges of kidnapping and murder. One charge involves 10 year old Terrence Gilroy, who has never been found. Testimony is expected from three kidnapping victims: Seeley Booth, an agent with the FBI, as well as scientists Jack Hodgins and Temperance Brennan from the Jeffersonian...," the reporter on TV said before Hodgins took the remote from Michelle and switched the TV off.

"Oh wow," the teen commented affected. Cam had mentioned something, but she hadn't been aware that Hodgins had been buried alive. "I'm sorry," she apologized when he stood rooted to the spot, his eyes still hanging on the now black TV screen, where the picture of Heather Taffet, Brennan and himself had shown up moments before.

"It's not your fault," Hodgins replied and had to clear his voice before he was able to speak. Then he turned around and fled from the living room, slamming the door of his study shut behind him.

"Did you two get into a fight?" Cam asked and came in from the kitchen where she had unloaded the dishwasher. She had heard the door slam shut.

"No, I was watching the news and they were reporting about the Gravedigger case starting," Michelle replied.

"Oh," Cam only nodded and dried her hands on a towel.

"Was he really buried alive?" Michelle wanted to know.

"Yes, with Dr. Brennan," Cam nodded.

"What happened?"

"We got too close to solving it. Taffet had only intended to take Brennan, but Hodgins witnessed it, so she ran him over with a car. Brennan had to operate on him without anesthetic or he would have died and then they bombed themselves out of the car they were buried in, not knowing if they'd survive the explosion or not. Since he knows that the trial is coming up he's started having nightmares again," Cam told her.

"Poor Hodgins. Was this the one who poisoned you?" Michelle asked.

"No, that was another one. A serial killer who tortured and killed young, blonde women. But he's dead," Cam clarified.

"No loss," Michelle said darkly.

"I agree," her mother nodded. "Michelle, I don't mean to throw you out or anything, but these coming days will be really hard on Hodgins and knowing him that means he'll be in a really foul mood. You can stay if you want, but maybe it would be better if you'd stay at our place until the trial is over while I stay here with Jack," Cam said hesitatingly.

"He'll get annoyed and yell at me?" Michelle wanted details.

"Maybe, I don't know. He sometimes has trouble controlling his anger. I don't know what will be coming our way," Cam shrugged sadly.

"I'll stay here with you. You said we're a family and families don't just spend Christmas together, but they are there when times get tough. If he wants to yell at me he can, if it makes him feel better. I know he won't mean it the way it'll sound and I won't yell back. I'm staying," Michelle decided and Cam had to smile at her answer.

"I love you, honey," she told her and placed a kiss on her hair. "Now I'll go look after Jack and see if he's ok," she added then and got up from the sofa. When she reached the door of his study she knocked softly and then opened it and lurked inside. He was sitting at his desk staring out the window.

"You ok?" she asked him and closed the door behind her.

"Mmh, just thinking," he nodded.

"Don't worry too much about the process. Taffet will get what she deserves," Cam told him and walked up to him.

"No she won't! What she deserves is to be buried alive and suffocate to death," he exclaimed heatedly. Cam didn't reply but just stroked her fingers through his hair. "I don't want anything to happen to you," he went on.

"Nothing will happen to me, Taffet is in prison," Cam dismissed it.

"No, please let me finish," he insisted. "She's smart and there's still the chance that she'll be set free after the trial. She hates Brennan and me with a passion and she wants to hurt us. She took Booth the last time, knowing she'd hurt Brennan and I don't want you to be next," he told her.

"What are you saying?" she wondered, not understanding what he was getting at.

"During the trial I don't want her to find out about us. If she's set free I'll have to think of something else, but for now it should be enough if we don't appear in court as a couple," Hodgins said and turned around with his chair so he was facing her.

"Jack…" Cam sighed and wanted to protest, but he stopped her by shaking his head from side to side.

"Also I'll need some distance in court and at work. The trial hasn't even started yet and I'm not too far away from losing it. If you provide any sort of comfort for me while at work or in court I'll break down," he admitted.

"You need someone to be there for you," she insisted.

"At home, when we're alone and she can't see how much this still affects me," he replied.

"Ok, but if you need me…" she started.

"I'll come to you," he finished her sentence. Cam nodded without saying anything and stepped closer to him. He placed his hands on her hips and played with the hem of her shirt, his eyes following his fingers.

"You should go and lay down for a bit. You barely slept last night," Cam said, also looking down at his hands.

"I'm sorry I woke you up," he just replied.

"Get some rest, Jack," she repeated her demand.

"I can't sleep. Every time I close my eyes I'm in that car again," he admitted, still not looking up.

"You think it'll help if I go with you until you're asleep?" she asked.

"Only if you're still there when I wake up," he said and looked up at her.

"Ok, then come on. We'll lie down for an hour or two," she smiled at him and stroked through his hair again when he leaned his cheek against her stomach.

* * *

Monday morning the team of the Jeffersonian all found themselves in the courtroom. Booth, Max and Brennan sat up front, behind them sat Hodgins and Cam with Angela in between them. Per their agreement Hodgins had waved Angela into the bench row after Cam and had taken the seat at the end. They had just sat down when Heather Taffet was brought in, wearing an orange jumper and handcuffs. Immediately she sought out Brennan, Booth and Hodgins with her eyes. Cam waited a moment, but then looked over to Jack, saw him still shuddering and exchanged a worried look with Angela. The personal tension between them had vanished now that they had to face this extreme situation. They were both worried about Brennan and Hodgins and that brought them closer again.

"Okay. You all ready to play nice?" the judge asked.

"Always, Your Honor," Caroline Julian replied.

"Your Honor, since I'm representing myself, I'd like to request that my shackles be removed while I'm in court?" Taffet requested and out of the corner of her eyes Cam saw Hodgins clenching his fists.

"This is only an evidentiary hearing, Your Honor. There's no jury to prejudice and frankly, I feel a bit more secure with her in chains," Miss Julian disagreed.

"Spare us the dramatic flourishes, Miss Julian. When we go to trial, we can revisit the request, Miss Taffet. First witness," the judge ended the discussion and they all took a deep breath, readying themselves for their hearing.

After a short pause Cam had to go first.

"Burn marks were found on the victims that were consistent with injuries one would sustain from a 3 million volt stun gun," she said, answering the first question.

"And where did you find the stun gun?" Taffet asked Cam.

"In the suspects' storage locker together with boots," Cam replied, although she didn't want to talk to her.

"This storage locker was found with information obtained illegally, wasn't it?" Taffet asked provocatively.

"We didn't know that at the time, Your Honor. We obtained a legal warrant to search the locker," Cam pointed out and was dismissed after a few short questions. Booth and Hodgins followed and Jack had the most trouble with talking to the woman who had buried him alive. He looked like he'd jump up and strangle her any moment, but he kept his composure. When Brennan was on the stand he kept fidgeting and snapped the rubber band that he wore around his wrist again.

"I'd like to move that all charges be dropped, Your Honor," Taffet requested once she had established that the warrant didn't stand. Everybody tensed up except for Caroline Julian.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you? We still have dirt samples from the crime scene. The ransom tapes," she said.

"Your Honor, this is a waste of the courts time and the tax payers money," Taffet addressed the judge.

"If I lose, I'll send everyone a note of apology," the prosecutor dead panned with her usual wit.

"You aren't left with much, Miss Julian. You sure you want to proceed?" Judge Dufrey asked her. Caroline first looked at Taffet, then turned around and looked at Booth, Brennan and Hodgins. The looks on their faces spoke volumes and she knew they needed this. Cam and Angela looked scared as well, worrying what would happen if Taffet was set free. Caroline knew she had no choice.

"Yes, Your Honor," she finally said adamantly.

"Okay. The charges stand. We're going to trial. Court is adjourned," he said then and everybody got up. Hodgins bolted out the door and just when Cam wanted to follow him she saw Taffet walking up to Brennan and talking to her. She couldn't hear what she was saying, but the venom in her eyes and the small smile playing around her lips gave her chills. Taffet was then taken away by the guards and Cam followed Hodgins and Angela outside.

"Where's Jack?" she asked Angela when she found her standing alone in the hallway.

"He said he needed some air," Angela replied. "Alone," she added apologetically, making it clear that she had tried to be there for him, but he hadn't let her.

"I figured," Cam nodded and placed a hand on Angela's arm.

"After it happened he didn't really sleep for months," the artist told her and Cam knew this was a peace offering and proof that she was really accepting their relationship. She knew now that Cam would look after him this time and that she could only fit in the role of a good friend, but that was it.

"It started again this weekend," Cam nodded. "But he requested space and I'll give it to him. He knows where to find me."

"Taffet said we missed evidence," Brennan interrupted them before Angela could reply.

"What?" they both asked.

"She said that if I was so smart why didn't I find the number," Brennan repeated and their eyes got wide.

"I'll get Hodgins and we'll meet at the lab in half an hour. Tell Booth to get us everything related to her and the case," Cam told Brennan and then hurried out of the building. She looked left and right and nearly missed him. He was sitting on the stairs to the courthouse, far off to the right, his hands folded in his lap, his head hanging down. When he heard her approaching he looked up, his eyes empty and void of any emotion.

"Taffet baited Brennan, telling her we missed evidence. We have to get to the lab and run over everything again," she told him and gripped the string of her purse with both hands to keep herself from reaching out to him.

"Arrogant bitch," he spat and got up. The fury had taken over for the moment and Cam knew that his mood would change back again at some point. However, for now it was easier for both of them to deal with his anger than with his fear.

* * *

Later at the lab Angela and Cam were standing in her office in front of the large screen, running a program through the computer.

"Booth is getting her arrest records as well as old case files from when she was a prosecutor," Brennan said when she joined them.

"Okay, uh, I'm pulling every record we have so far associated with Taffet. Social security numbers, birthdates, blood test results," Angela informed her.

"Ages of the victims?" Cam asked just to make sure they weren't missing anything.

"Got those. I'm using a recursive search algorithm, which analyzes and cross references the data. Since they're related, any inconsistencies can raise a red flag," Angela nodded.

"I think Taffet is just messing with us again," Hodgins, who had just walked in, said.

"I have to disagree," Sweets spoke up. "Her pathology is consistent; this is all a game to her. She won the first round so now she's upping the stakes by challenging Dr. Brennan."

"Yeah, or maybe she knows there's something in the soil samples we already have so she's just trying to distract us," Hodgins argued back.

"You analyzed those soil samples a hundred times," the psychologist pointed out.

"Are you telling me to give up, Sweets?" Hodgins got louder.

"No, of course not. But I mean, I understand the need to cling to anything…"

"Cling. Okay, so I'm crazy now?" Hodgins attacked him.

"That's not what I meant," Sweets said helplessly.

"Go, Dr. Hodgins. Look at the soil again. You may find something," Cam stepped in and stopped Hodgins from saying more. She knew he wouldn't let Sweets win this argument and the only thing that could happen was that he would lose his composure. Hodgins noticed her attempt to appease him and left without another word.

"You know, he still gets nightmares. Says he wakes up in a sweat," Angela informed Sweets and Cam nodded, then left for her office as well.

* * *

"Anything new on the soil samples?" Cam asked Hodgins when he came into her office hours later. She could tell that he hadn't come for that, because he had closed the door firmly behind him. However if he actually did come to talk about work and not about himself and she had asked him how he was then he would surely freak out and she didn't want to risk if she asked him how he was and he wanted to talk about wo

"No. Of course not. Sweets was right. You knew that," he replied, admitting that he had known why she had sent him away before. He walked closer to her desk, but stayed on the other side. "I'm barely keeping it together here," he admitted while she just looked at him. Embarrassed he looked down to his feet, then back up, trying with all he had to keep himself from falling apart.

"We will get her, Jack," Cam said softly, but remained sitting in her chair. She ached to take him in her arms and hold him, but she knew it wouldn't help him to stay strong.

"I feel like she's still got me locked up, you know?" he asked and sounded so scared that she couldn't take it anymore, got up and rounded her desk. "I mean, when I see her there's just this, um, anger. I mean, it's like a helplessness that comes," he broke off and couldn't speak anymore. Cam couldn't remember if she had ever felt that protective of anyone beside Michelle.

"You made it Jack," she said and placed a hand on his cheek.

"When I was buried in that car, I didn't think I was ever going to get out. And now, I feel like she's in between us," he admitted, referring to the distance. She knew he had requested it and she also knew that he needed it, but right then it was just too much to take for him. She had told him to come to her and ask for support if he needed it and here he was, doing exactly that.

"She's not in between us," she said with conviction and he pressed his cheek against her palm, seeking the contact. "No way," she emphasized when he opened his teary eyes again and looked at her. "Nobody can get between us," she told him and wrapped her arms around him. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and closed his eyes- breathed her in. Slowly she felt him relax a bit while he clung to her and let her hold him. With her thumb she stroked up and down his neck because she knew that relaxed him- it was one of his spots.

"If you keep doing that I'll fall asleep," he mumbled against her shoulder and she felt his head getting heavier. Usually there would have been a smile in his voice, but not this time.

"How about we go home early today? There's nothing we can do anyway and the others will call us as soon as they find something," she said and placed a kiss on his cheek.

"We can't just leave," he shook his head and straightened up.

"Sure we can. Booth and Brennan look after each other and Michelle and I will look after you," she said and kept her tight hold on him, so he couldn't just walk off.

"I was unfriendly to Michelle the other day," he told her.

"I told her to stay at our apartment until the trial is over, but she said we're a family and family sticks together during tough times," she said and was relieved when a small smile appeared on his face.

"You two really are my family," he agreed.

"Then let's go home. Michelle said she'd cook for us," Cam smiled, relieved that this crisis was averted for the moment.

"I hope she keeps her hands off my Argan oil this time," he worried and didn't see that Cam's grin got wider because she had turned away from him to gather her things.

"Then we better hurry otherwise I can't guarantee anything," she replied. She was glad that he was back to worrying about his oil and not about the nightmares that would haunt him again come night.

* * *

She had woken up when he had started to mumble in his sleep. Then he had begun to twist and turn, his mumbling getting louder. She glanced at the clock; he had fallen asleep only two hours ago. Cam wasn't sure if she should wake him now or wait longer. Light fell in through the crack in the blinds and she realized that his forehead was already sweaty.

"Jack," she called quietly and placed a hand on his shoulder, rubbing over his damp shirt. "Jack, come on honey wake up," she said and scooted closer to him.

"No!" With a loud gasp he woke up and sat straight in bed, breathing heavily, eyes wide. Cam stayed calm; she had seen him like this for the past three nights and knew what she had to do.

"It's ok, everything's alright," she told him, placed a hand on his chest and slowly pushed him back down in a lying position.

"I… she…" he tried but couldn't find the words to describe the terror he had just endured in his dream.

"She's not here. It's just us," she assured him and switched on the lamp on her nightstand so the room wasn't as dark anymore. He looked around the room, then rolled onto his side and laid his head on her chest, nuzzling her breast with his nose like a scared child did when his mother held him.

"I'm sorry I woke you up again," he said, still breathing fast and shallow.

"You should have seen your face today when you realized Michelle had used the last of your fancy oil," she ignored his apology, knowing they'd go in circles. She had found out that the easiest way to calm him down was to talk about everyday life, things that had nothing to do with colleagues, work or the time he had been buried alive. Simple things, family things, things that were random, but important enough to attract his attention.

"I told her at least ten times not to use it," he said, his voice still a bit shaky, but steadier than before.

"She says it tastes better than olive oil and I think she's right," Cam replied and couldn't really believe that she was lying in bed at three am talking about oil.

"That's why it costs five times the price of olive oil," he muttered, his thumb painting random patterns on her hip, while she was back to lulling him to sleep by massaging his neck with two fingers.

"Isn't it also healthier?" she asked him.

"Mmmh and they have to import it from Morocco," Hodgins nodded against her chest.

"Have you ever been to Morocco?" she saw the opportunity for a safe topic change away from the oil.

"Once to Marrakech," he replied, his voice already quieter, more like a mumble.

"You liked it?"

"There's this place with the narrators and snakes and apes and belly dancers," he said and trailed off. "And amazing food," he muttered, his eyes closing.

"Of course you liked the snakes and the other critters," she whispered while he concentrated on her heartbeat, drifting off to sleep again and getting some minutes of rest before the next nightmare.

* * *

After Angela had found out that the numbers Taffet had been talking about had been GPS coordinates they had found the remains of the boy Terrence Gilroy. They had brought him back to the lab to take a look at him, even though Hodgins was barely able to look at the boy, knowing what he had endured and he hadn't been lucky enough to get out.

"Hands off!" Miss Julian called as she hurried up onto the platform, ignoring the security guard who tried to stop her as well as the several alarms going off. "No one touches a thing!"

"What are you talking about?" Hodgins wondered aloud.

"This is our chance to get some hard evidence they can't dismiss," Brennan supported him and they finally shut off the alarms.

"Not if you touch it. You can't act as an expert witness in a case when you are also a victim," Caroline informed them.

"We aren't victims in this crime," Hodgins disagreed. This little boy had been the victim. They had been lucky enough to escape.

"We filed one complaint with seven counts. Since the trial started, you and Dr. Brennan are linked to all the crimes," Caroline informed them. Hodgins felt some panic rising up in his chest again when he thought about the boy and that they were linked now through the crimes of one person.

"That's why Taffet wanted us to find the boy. She knows we're the only people who have the skills to connect her to the crime," Brennan knew.

"And now our hands are tied," Hodgins said frustrated.

"Not if you drop our case," Brennan replied rationally.

"Excuse me?" the entomologist gasped.

"If Caroline doesn't prosecute our kidnappings, we'd be free to testify as expert witnesses in the boys case," his colleague tried to reason with him.

"You'd be willing to do that?" Caroline asked disbelievingly.

"Noooo," Hodgins shook his head. "No. Caroline has to prosecute our case. Taffet tried to kill us," he exclaimed.

"All of our evidence has been thrown out. The rational thing to do is to pursue a case with fresh, untainted evidence," Brennan pointed out, upsetting Hodgins. His ability to think rationally had been thrown out when the trial had started. She couldn't get through to him with rational arguments alone.

"Are you kidding me? Is it really that easy for you to forget what happened to us?" he asked Brennan.

"I will never forget what happened to us. Or to Booth. Or this boy. You are not the only one suffering, Dr. Hodgins, but your emotions have no relevance. Not if we want to convict Taffet," Brennan stressed. Angrily he threw his gloves on the table, knowing he really had no choice.

"This better work," he spat and left the platform.

"I'll have the charges dismissed in the morning; you can start right after that," Caroline told Brennan as she watched him hurrying into Cam's office. Hopefully the pretty coroner was able to calm him down.

* * *

"Brennan just made me agree to drop the charges in our case against Taffet," Hodgins said angrily as he walked into the autopsy room, not caring that Cam was talking on the phone.

"I'll call you back, bye," she said to whoever was on the other line and then turned to him. "Why?" she asked, knowing Brennan wouldn't just do that because she felt like it.

"Because there's one complaint with seven names on it and if we are victims in a case we can't work it," he told her, snapping the rubber band around his wrist.

"Stop that or you'll have red marks again," Cam said after she had walked over to him, and placed a hand on his wrist. "The evidence we had in your case was thrown out anyway," Cam pointed out.

"That's what Brennan said, but it's just… it's not right!" he said loudly.

"That you have to drop the charges?" she asked, wanting clarification on what exactly was upsetting him that much.

"No, that there'll never be any punishment for what she did to us. It'll never be over because she'll never be punished for it. All the other cases will get justice, but not ours. Years from now she can look me in the eyes and tell me that she's innocent in my case, that she's not responsible for all we had to go through," he ranted.

"Jack, out there is a boy lying dead on the autopsy table that she let suffocate to death. Maybe he was lucky and was unconscious after she took him, but maybe he was not. We'll find out about that as soon as we can take a look at the remains. If she walks because we can't work this case, just because you and Brennan want justice…" Cam didn't finish her sentence and let it stand like this.

"I want both of our charges to go through," he replied stubbornly and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"This is someone's son, Jack. She killed someone's kid and not only once but several times. He was ten years old, the same age as Tyron six years younger than Michelle. Would you still feel bad if you dropped charges on Tyler's account or Michelle's?" she asked him, trying to make him understand.

"You're right," he finally sighed and let his arms drop to his side. "We were lucky, we got out and now it's our job to make sure she won't walk. For the other five names on the complaint," he nodded.

"We will find all the evidence there is to find once we get access," she supported what he had just said.

"Sorry, I interrupted your call," he said then, remembering that she had ended a call because of him.

"It was only Michelle with one of her ideas," Cam smiled.

"For her new room?"

"No, for tonight. I don't know where it's coming from, but she had the idea that we could all camp out in the living room tonight, make smores in the fireplace and sleep on blankets and air mattresses," she replied.

"She knows that it's June not December right? She got hit by camping fever?" he guessed.

"No, she thought maybe it would help you with the nightmares… not having them, actually," Cam let him know.

"That's so nice of her, but I'd rather sleep in my bed and not scare her," Hodgins replied. Cam knew that he most likely didn't want Michelle to see him that broken and scared.

"We can save the idea for winter time," she agreed.

"But tell her thanks. I really appreciate it," he pointed out.

"I will. Oh and when do you wanna leave today? I have to make a few more calls and then I'm done," Cam let him know.

"We can leave when you're ready. I can't do anything anyway as long as Caroline hasn't given the all clear," he said and then walked out of her office. He was still not ok, but at least he had accepted now that he had to drop the charges on his own case to get justice for a ten year old boy.

* * *

"These are peri-mortem fractures, bi-laterally on the fifth, sixth and seventh ribs. On the posterior axillary," Brennan said the next afternoon when they were finally allowed to analyze the remains of Terrence Gilroy.

"And injuries to the greater cornu and the left lateral thyroid and cricoid cartilages. I see injuries like this in victims who've been strangled," Cam added to the list.

"Perhaps he struggled and Taffet was trying to subdue him," Brennan did something that was unlikely for her and guessed.

"Taffet tasered all her victims - three million volts - that should be enough to knock out a 10 year old boy for at least a few hours," Cam wasn't too sure about Brennan's theory.

"He wasn't unconscious. These are defensive wounds. Consistent with the boy resisting being placed in the freezer; arms out-stretched," Brennan explained and showed her the marks on the hands and arms of the boy.

"I'll take samples from under his fingernails. Maybe he scratched her during the struggle," Cam nodded and hoped that they would find something.

"Maybe she knew that facts in this case wouldn't be consistent with the other crimes and would give her reasonable doubt," Brennan pointed out the fact that they had just come a step closer to setting her free than making sure she would rot in jail.

"You don't want your fries?" Cam asked Hodgins when they were sitting in the diner for a quick snack. She knew he hadn't eaten anything decent all day and had dragged him out of his lab while the machines performed tests and they couldn't do anything anyway but wait.

"Nah, I'm not hungry," he shook his head and pushed his plate towards her.

"At least eat the sandwich, I can't eat that as well. I've got my own," she pointed out.

"Did you find anything on the remains? You haven't said anything so far," he asked. She hadn't told him anything so far because Brennan's last statement kept ringing in her ears. She knew the anthropologist was right. Taffet had played them and if they didn't find something rock solid, then she would walk. And she was scared to think what Hodgins would do if that was the case.

"We found peri-mortem fractures and injuries to the greater cornu and the left lateral thyroid and cricoid cartilages," she replied without giving him any explanation.

"Which means?" he asked and suspiciously raised his eyebrows.

"Defensive wounds and wounds I know from strangulation victims," she told him with a sigh and hoped he didn't come to the same conclusion as she and Brennan had before. At least not yet.

"He struggled and fought to get away?"

"He had his arms outstretched when she placed him in the fridge."

"God," he sighed and sank deeper into his chair at the diner. They always had horrible crimes and some had involved kids before, but this time it was affecting him more than ever before.

"Wait, if he fought he wasn't unconscious, which means she didn't stun him," he said then, when it occurred to him what Cam and Brennan had found out before.

"It looks that way," Cam nodded and suddenly didn't feel too hungry anymore herself.

"It's not consistent with the other cases. She played us," he concluded, the fury back in his eyes.

"We will find something, Jack," she tried to calm him down.

"Stop saying that! You don't know that, no one knows that! So just… leave me alone!" he yelled, then got up and left before she could say another word. She felt the eyes of the other guests in the diner on her and sighed, closed her eyes for a second to collect herself. Taffet couldn't just walk, she just… couldn't. She wouldn't know what to do anymore if she did.

* * *

Michelle was puzzled when she came home the next night from a date with Perry and found Cam alone on the couch in Hodgins' living room.

"Hey, how was your date?" Cam asked her and turned the volume of the TV down.

"Nice. We got something to eat and then hung out at the bowling alley," her daughter reported.

"Good," Cam replied and yawned.

"Hodgins already asleep?" Michelle wanted to know and sat down on the arm rest of the couch.

"No, he's out running," Cam shook her head.

"Again? Isn't your usual morning run enough for him?" Michelle asked stunned.

"He needs it to calm down. Last night he got up around two am and went downstairs. I found him kickboxing when I went to check on him," Cam reported and sounded worried.

"He nearly bit my head off this morning when I asked him if he wanted to eat something," Michelle replied and sounded just as worried.

"He doesn't eat, he doesn't sleep… I'll be glad when this trial is over," her mother sighed.

"Me too. I miss the old, happy Hodgins," Michelle nodded. "It's like he can't be around us anymore."

"At the same time he needs us to be there for him. He can't pick up the pieces himself anymore," Cam pointed out.

"Then why is he pushing us away?"

"He thinks he needs the distance to keep his act together. If we look after him too much and when we think he needs it, he fears he'll fall apart at a moment when he needs to be in control."

"That's crap," Michelle commented in her usual blunt way.

"I know, but I can't argue with him at the moment. I can only be there when he lets me," Cam knew.

"You gonna stay up and wait for him?" Michelle asked then and got up, stretching her arms over her head.

"I wanted to, but it's already late and he'll wake me up when he gets home anyway," she replied, switched off the TV and followed her daughter upstairs.

* * *

Another day later Cam walked into the FBI building during her lunch break. She wasn't looking for Booth- him she had seen at the lab- but for Sweets.

"Hey. Sorry to bother you. Do you have a minute?" she asked him after knocking on the door. She knew everyone had the habit of just waltzing in and she needed his help this time and didn't want to anger him.

"Yeah, sure," he replied and she entered and sat down on the couch across from him. "How's it going?" Sweets asked when she just looked nervously around but didn't speak.

"I don't know, actually. It's why I'm here. I'm - I'm worried, Dr. Sweets. I - I - this case is taking its toll on everyone," she tried to find words for what was going on.

"Including you?" he needed clarification.

"Including me. Yes," she confirmed.

"It's a very stressful situation, I mean, you're not immune to that."

"I feel like everything's fraying around the edges. We're all searching for some piece of evidence that can put Taffet away but we keep coming up empty. Everyone feels manipulated by her and I-I should be able to pull everyone together - keep them on track…" she admitted and trailed off.

"You want to guarantee the outcome," he summed it up and she nodded. "I wish that were possible. You know, we knew this was gonna be an uphill battle," he said then.

"But did we really believe that? We all knew she was guilty, so someplace we assume that, in a just world, she'd pay for what she did," Cam argued back, not agreeing with him on this one.

"That assumes a just world, I'm afraid," he said sadly and she couldn't argue with that.

"These... are my people she hurt. My friends. I should... be able to do something," she admitted how helpless she felt.

"I know," Sweets agreed.

"I just don't know how to help them anymore," Cam said quietly.

"You're talking about Hodgins now, aren't you?" Sweets knew.

"I'm really worried about him. I don't want to imagine what would happen if Taffet is set free," she voiced her biggest concern.

"Maybe you should get him to come here and I'll start working with him again," Sweets proposed.

"I can't even get him to join us for dinner at the moment, Sweets," Cam laughed sadly and fought with tears.

"That isn't your only concern at the moment, is it?" Sweets guessed again.

"Yes… no… I really don't wanna talk about it Sweets," she admitted and nervously scratched her arm.

"Ok," he nodded and gave her a moment to calm down again and to gather the strength that she needed to keep supporting Hodgins and the others.

* * *

After Angela had been able to clear the audio file and transfer it back to Taffets voice they all gathered in her office. Hodgins suddenly looked relieved, like a weight had been taken off him.

"A dust mite?" Cam asked him when he presented what he had found.

"So that little bug is gonna save us?" Sweets, who had joined them, asked.

"Oh, don't call him a bug. Sounds insulting. We reexamined the boy's teeth and found it wedged between the right lateral incisor and canine. Dust mites eat dead human skin cells and this one's stomach sac is full," Hodgins explained and Cam now knew why he looked better. He had found something, something that could be important. He had been able to provide something useful.

"If the boy bit Taffet, the skin cells are probably hers. Whatever's left is gonna be small, but there might be enough to give us DNA," Cam pointed out.

"Come on then, we'll run the tests," he said and together they rushed out of Angela's office. Cam prepared everything so she could perform the test while Hodgins went to fetch the bug. If this was what he needed, then she hoped she could help him find salvation.

* * *

"You think this will be good enough?" Hodgins asked for the thousandth time and Cam opened her eyes again.

"I guess we'll find out tomorrow," she replied this time.

"We have DNA, we have a solid process how we got there. She shouldn't be able to talk her way out of this one," he added and was quiet for a moment. "And we really followed all protocols? No fault in the process?" he said just when Cam had closed her eyes again.

"None that I know of," she said and tried to keep her annoyance out of her voice.

"But the evidence is gone, we can't test it again," he worried. "Couldn't you have preserved at least some cells?" Hodgins asked and Cam turned around to him this time, opening her eyes again.

"No, Jack, I couldn't have. And you couldn't have found another bug and we couldn't have run other tests and there is absolutely nothing else to find in those soil samples," Cam said, her patience running short.

"Ok, ok," he muttered.

"Go to sleep, Jack. It's gonna be a long day tomorrow," she told him in a friendlier tone. He nodded and closed his eyes and she did as well.

"I can't sleep. I'm gonna go downstairs and work out some more," he broke the silence again and got out of bed without waiting for a reply. Cam just sighed and closed her eyes again, hoping she'd be able to get some minutes of sleep.

* * *

"This is a dermatophagoides farinae," Hodgins said the next day on the stand with a confidence that he had been lacking ever since the trail had started.

"For those of us who don't speak insect, what is that, exactly?" Caroline asked him.

"It's a dust mite: an insect found on clothes, but it also feeds on the cells of the person wearing those clothes," he explained.

"And where was this dust mite found?"

"Between Terrence Gilroy's teeth. It was transferred there when the boy bit the person who kidnapped him," he said and after a few more questions Cam took over, explaining her part.

"The dust mite contained human female epithelial cells. We extracted those cells and ran them through several DNA databases. The cells belonged to Heather Taffet," she said and dared a glance over to Hodgins.

"Nothing further, your honor," Miss Julian said.

"Your witness, Ms. Taffet," the judge decided.

"It seems that you have neglected to include a sample of the evidence that I could have tested independently," Taffet pointed out.

"Since there were so few cells in the mite, the testing destroyed the sample, but the procedures and results are all contained in our documentation," Cam replied and tried to keep the venom out of her voice.

"Let me get this right. I have access to your notes, but I can't examine the actual evidence because you destroyed it?" the gravedigger asked provocatively.

"Your Honor, in California versus Trombetta, the Supreme Court ruled that the prosecution could destroy a sample to test for DNA because there was no bad faith," Caroline knew.

"Bad faith? The motives of every single person at the Jeffersonian are suspect and now their only physical evidence is gone. If it existed at all," Taffet protested.

"I've just about had it with your snide, unsubstantiated allegations," Caroline Julian was ready to attack as well now.

"As have I."

"That's enough, Ms. Julian," the judge lectured her.

"Your Honor, I would like to file a motion to have this unverifiable DNA evidence dismissed," Taffet requested, knowing that it was her only chance.

"Protocol has been followed, Ms. Taffet. It's up to the jury to decide how the evidence will figure in the outcome of this case. Your motion is denied," The judge decided and Taffet's face fell. They had standing evidence against her.

* * *

"What'd I tell you, huh? Caroline nailed it in there," Booth said happily while they all stood in the hallway of the courthouse.

"Taffet was pretty convincing in there, too," Hodgins still had doubts. Cam was standing on the other side of the small gathering and didn't dare to go over to him. He hadn't sought her out in the last few days - only at night when he had needed her after the nightmares. He tried to be strong, but she knew it was an act.

"You know what, Hodgins? You ever see the bright side in things?" Booth asked him and Hodgins did a double take, his eyes finally landing on Cam.

"You know what, Booth? You're right. 'Cause no matter what happens in there, I've got Cam," he said, walked over to her and slung his arms around her waist..

"Hodgins," she warned him, not knowing what he was planning. She just wasn't too comfortable with the public displays of affection.

"It's okay. I don't care, baby. Look, Taffet's not going to make the rules anymore," he said to her and pulled her closer to him. "Did you already tell them about you know?" he asked her then and Cam nodded.

"Some know," she said.

"I want everybody to know," he grinned happily. "Cam and Michelle are moving in with me," he announced although the others, except for Sweets, unofficially already knew. Hodgins was so happy about it that the smile lit up his face and the others had to smile with him.

"Do you already know when?" Booth asked them.

"Four weeks?" Cam replied with a question and looked at Hodgins who just kissed her.

"This isn't due to another pregnancy, is it?" Brennan asked them, clumsily as ever. At first they looked a bit stunned, but then they both laughed.

"No, this is due to a case of love," Hodgins replied

"So, this is what you were hiding from us?" Sweets more so asked Cam than Hodgins.

"Not hiding, I was having trouble dealing with things because of the trial. Then I thought... screw it," Hodgins answered for the both of them and grinned down at Cam who had snuggled up to him.

"The jury's back," Caroline informed them that moment and they all slowly walked back inside. While the others walked immediately back inside, Hodgins held Cam back when she wanted to follow them.

"No more secrets, no more hiding. And if she goes after you I will kill her," he vowed and kissed her again now that they were alone. The kiss was a lot more intimate than the short peck they had shared while the others had still been around.

"From what I heard through the grapevine Brennan's dad will take care of that for us if she walks," she winked at him and arm in arm they walked back into the courtroom.

"The defendant will rise for the reading of the verdict. In count one, the kidnapping of Terrence Gilroy, the jury finds the defendant, Heather Taffet, guilty," the judge started reading aloud the verdict and every one started to mutter. "Order, or I will clear the court," he threatened, then continued. "In count two, the murder of Terrence Gilroy, the jury finds the defendant... guilty," he proclaimed and a cheer went through the audience. "The defendant is remanded into custody until sentencing. We are adjourned," he finished.

"We did it, babe," Hodgins cheered and hugged Cam, lifted her up and swung her around. She only laughed and held on to him, but didn't protest.

"We're gonna go out and celebrate, right?" Sweets asked happily.

"Oh, we are definitely going to celebrate," Hodgins nodded and looked at Cam in a way that made it clear he was thinking about a very private kind of celebration.

"Founding Fathers?" Angela asked when Brennan and Booth joined them and didn't look as happy.

* * *

"I was out of town for a couple of days. Well, I knew Tempe had everything under control. She didn't need me," Max said, unaware that some of them already knew he was telling a lie.

"Uh-huh," Brennan just said, not even pretending to believe him.

"Alright, let's just raise our glasses here. To the squints, okay? Come on," Booth said and raised his glass.

"To Booth," Cam added and laughed when Hodgins lightly pinched her waist. She didn't say anything to him, but just leaned more into him.

"And Caroline," Brennan added as well.

"Hear, hear," everyone said and they clicked their glasses together.

"You know, I never doubted any of you - not for a minute," Sweets complimented them with a glance at Cam.

"Where'd you come from? Huh?" Booth turned onto the kid immediately.

"Oh, come on," Hodgins saw his chance come to get on Booth's good side again and tease Sweets. When Booth glared at him anyway he just grinned, shrugged and let his lips linger on his girlfriends' forehead.

"Oh, please," Caroline Julian rolled her eyes.

"Okay, let's not forget the happy couple over here," Booth found a way for revenge and threw some confetti over the both of them.

"Seeley!" Cam shrieked and tried to brush the colored paper pieces out of her hair.

"Camille," he replied in the same tone and threw another handful of confetti over her head.

"Yes, best wishes for a successful blending of familial obligations as well as monetary and property consolidation. What?" Brennan asked after her strange wishes.

"We didn't get married, Dr. Brennan," Cam pointed out with a smile.

"Considering your living arrangement and the obvious closeness that you demonstrate I think it's only a matter of time," Brennan shrugged unimpressed. Cam looked up at Hodgins, requesting with her eyes that he say something, but he only grinned.

"What? I agree," he told Cam with a chuckle.

"You'd think I'd have something to say on that matter as well," she rolled her eyes.

"You get to say something once I propose," Jack said and took another sip of his drink.

"How nice of you," she said sarcastically and buried her head in Hodgins' shoulder the next moment when Booth threw another hand full of confetti in their direction.

* * *

"I really don't understand why we had to get up and dressed in the middle of the night," Michelle complained tiredly and yawned, her head resting against Cam's shoulder. Cam was riding with her in the back of the car, the two of them basically laying over one another.

"Good question," Cam nodded without opening her eyes.

"Ladies, would you just wait," Hodgins grinned excitedly. He had been bouncing off the walls all evening with excitement and Cam had already suspected that something was up. Two days after they had won the trial he was still on a high and obviously in a mood to surprise them.

"I think whatever you plan on doing could have waited until tomorrow morning," Michelle still wasn't done. She hated to be woken up for whatever reason and Hodgins considered himself lucky that he had gotten her out of bed without suffering injuries.

"Bad news, you have to get up again, we're here," he let them know then and parked the car. Sleepily they stumbled out of it and realized only then where he had taken them.

"Is that a real private jet?" Michelle exclaimed wide eyed and with her mouth not closing after she had spoken.

"Yup," Hodgins replied and rolled back and forth on his feet, hands buried in his jeans pockets and a lopsided grin on his face.

"We're gonna fly around in the night? How cool is that!" Michelle gushed and bounced up and down, hugging Cam's arm.

"I wouldn't call it 'flying around' and I hope I packed the right things," Hodgins shook his head and got two bags out of the trunk.

"You went through my stuff?" Michelle's excitement was gone for a moment and her expression darkened.

"I didn't go through your stuff, I just kept some things that were in the laundry," he held up his hands in innocence.

"Washed, I hope?" Cam grinned.

"No, damn, I knew I forgot something," he joked and rolled his eyes at them. "Now get on the plane so we can take off," he waved in the direction of the plane.

"Where are we going, Jack?" Cam asked him.

"Maybe it's like Pretty Woman and he's gonna take us to the opera on the other end of the country? Or in Rome?" Michelle guessed and made him laugh again.

"Maybe another time. This time we're just flying down to Palm Springs where a team from the local spa is waiting for you two," he finally let them in on what was going on.

"Really?" Michelle asked and then ran to him and hugged him. "Thank you! That is so awesome!"

"No thank you. You two went above and beyond this last week, while I treated you badly," he told them once Michelle had let go of him again.

"That's what we're here for," Cam replied as they walked to the plane.

"You can yell at me all you want if that's what I get afterwards," Michelle giggled, ran up the stairs and disappeared into the plane. A loud shriek came out a second later and made the two adults who followed her inside laugh out loud.

**TBC**


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22: Cause I told you once, now I told you twice...**

_Five hundred twenty-five thousand  
Six hundred minutes,  
Five hundred twenty-five thousand  
Moments so dear.  
Five hundred twenty-five thousand  
Six hundred minutes,  
How do you measure, measure a year?_

_In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights  
In cups of coffee  
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife._

_In five hundred twenty-five thousand  
Six hundred minutes,  
How do you measure  
A year in the life?_

_How about love? Measure in love._

"You know what would be really awesome?" Michelle asked and lifted her head to look at Cam and Hodgins who were lying beside her on the warm sand at the beach. "If I could come here with some friends after graduation," Michelle thought aloud.

"Uhm… no," Cam said, after pretending to think about it.

"Come on, Cam. We would behave, I swear," Michelle protested.

"Yes, just like I did when I came here at 16 and the next day the pool was filled with the empty bottles of my dad's best Whisky," Hodgins laughed.

"I wouldn't do that," the teen insisted.

"I didn't either. I was passed out in the poolhouse," he admitted and laughed at the memory.

"See, no way," Cam shook her head, letting her daughter know she wouldn't give in.

"Dad would have let me," Michelle used the last thing that came to mind.

"Yeah, well, your dad didn't have a house with a pool thousands of miles away from home," Cam shrugged unimpressed.

"You're mean," Michelle went to pouting and lay back down.

"Why can't you just enjoy the sun and the beach and stop nagging?" her legal guardian sighed and wiped some sand off her arm.

"I'm a teenager, it's my job to nag and annoy you," her daughter pointed out and neither Cam nor Hodgins could disagree with her on that.

"Anyone of you ladies coming into the water with me? I want to take out the inflatable float" Hodgins said, watching both just bake in the sun.

"Don't drift too far away," Cam warned him without opening her eyes.

"And don't let the sharks get you," Michelle added, but the two didn't react otherwise.

"You two are lazy. I thought I could have some fun here as well, but all you do is read, listen to music and sun bathe," he complained, then took his huge float and wandered down to the sea.

"Did he really expect us to move after half a day of facials, a manicure, pedicure and massages?" Michelle asked and turned around so she was lying on her back.

"He's a man," Cam only shrugged without opening her eyes and then enjoyed the silence with only the waves and the wind audible.

* * *

_We gon' light it up like it's dynamite_  
_Cause I told you once, now I told you twice_  
_We gon' light it up like it's dynamite_

The music blasted through the club and the colored lights flew over the dance floor and the crowd on it, reflecting in the mirrors on the walls and jumping off the balls on the ceiling. Fog came out of several corners of the room, creating a surreal atmosphere.

"You know, if you were really my parents, this would be embarrassing," Michelle yelled over to Cam, while Hodgins was chanting along with the others to the song. All three of them had hit the biggest club in town, where Michelle had only gotten access to because Hodgins knew the owner, and were dancing the night away on the dance floor.

"Your dad wasn't that fond of dancing. He'd rather sit on the sidelines and watch the crowd," Cam yelled back and laughed when Michelle took her hand, held it up and turned around underneath her arm.

"Dr. H. can you dance?" Michelle asked him slaphappy.

"You want me to waltz you around the dance floor?" he laughed and twirled her around.

"Na-haaaa," she grinned and hugged Cam to keep her balance when he let her go again. "_I throw my hands up in the air sometimes saying ay-oh, gotta let go_," she sang then and raised her hands, taking Cam's up as well by lacing her fingers through hers.

"I can't believe I'm out partying with my daughter," Cam laughed. A moment later she was pulled away from Michelle and into Hodgins' arms, who kissed her and then let her go again, still dancing like all the others. When the music changed Cam placed a hand on Hodgins' shoulder and pulled Michelle over to them as well. "Ok, I have to go and sit down, my feet are killing me," she told them.

"You wanna go home?" Hodgins replied.

"Oh no! Not yet," Michelle protested instantly.

"Nah, I just want to sit down for a moment," Cam shook her head and smiled. Hodgins looked torn, glancing to the chairs and then up to the boxes where the music was coming from. "You can stay here and dance with Michelle, I can find a chair myself," Cam commented when she saw his look.

"Oh ok. You're coming back later?" he asked and seemed relieved.

"I will," she nodded and went off to the bathroom first and then found herself a chair from where she could watch Michelle and Jack on the dance floor, laughing when they seemed to have started a contest to see who could come up with the most ridiculous dance moves.

* * *

Monday morning they were all sitting in Cam's kitchen, each a cup of coffee in front of them, none anything close to awake.

"Can't I just stay at home today, you call in sick and we say we all caught the flu?" Michelle asked and lay her head back down on the small table beside her cup.

"I told you we should have gone home around three. You were the one who wanted to pull an all nighter," Cam shook her head.

"I didn't know we'd fly back the next afternoon. I thought we could sleep all day," the teen groaned and closed her eyes.

"You'll fall asleep at the table if you don't sit up," Hodgins told Michelle, although his eyes were barely open either.

"I don't wanna go to school today," Michelle whined.

"Life's tough," Cam only said and then slowly got up and dumped the rest of her coffee into the sink.

"We have to leave now," she told them. "You have your jumpsuit with you?" she asked Hodgins.

"Yes, in the trunk. The new crime scene must be pretty intense from what Booth said," Hodgins replied and got up as well.

"Urgh," groaned the teen in the room.

"Come on get up so we can drop you off at school," Cam ordered and slowly Michelle moved.

"You know it's funny. I remember someone teasing us about going home so 'early' and being old. Now we old guys are up and the youngster is yammering," Hodgins couldn't help but tease Michelle, when she stood up like an old woman.

"Hodgins, not in the mood for it now. I'm even too tired to say anything else," Michelle mumbled and followed them out. Hodgins just grinned and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, giving her a squeeze. Michelle let her head drop on his shoulder and let him lead her outside.

* * *

When they arrived at the crime scene Booth was already waiting for them in the apartment upstairs, the one where the floor had crashed into the apartment beneath. They looked around and Cam stayed behind Hodgins, knowing he would most likely be in awe, while she was creeped out by the thought alone.

"Oooh, this is a little slice of heaven. Cockroaches, fleas, rat droppings, bat guano," Hodgins said happily when he walked into the chaotic, messy apartment.

"One of those guys," Cam said knowingly and Booth nodded.

"Oh, yeah." Then he heard a rat squeak and Booth shifted his feet while Cam froze.

"I think I'll be happier downstairs with the dead stuff," she said when the squeaking was gone and fled from the apartment. She hated bugs and rats.

"Ugh, who could live in this stench? Put on the fan there, will ya?" Booth requested once she was gone.

"Sense of smell-it's destroyed after a while. Must be a survival mechanism," Hodgins told him and switched on the fan that was standing behind him in between the endless stacks of crap that the guy had accumulated prior to his death.

In the apartment below Brennan and Cam were examining the human remains that had fallen into the bedroom of a boy.

"In the Maluku Islands. It's a remarkable find," Brennan said, finishing her report on what she had heard.

"Better than upstairs?" Cam asked.

"Well, upstairs can't really shed light on the interspecies similarities of human evolution," Brennan replied.

"Well this guy must've been dead for a long time," Cam commented when she saw the remains after they had taken away all the crap that had covered him.

"Maybe not. Hodgins found so many insects and rodents, they could've cleaned the flesh quite rapidly. Anyway, remains were found on the islands which suggest Homo floresienses may have mated with early Homo sapiens. I've been in touch with the organizing committee," Brennan said and Cam was surprised because she hadn't known that.

"Really?"

"That shouldn't cause surprise. I'm an anthropologist," Brennan sounded nearly offended.

"Who's been focusing on murder lately," her boss pointed out.

"Lately." Booth chose that moment to yell down from above.

"Hey, down below. You might want to check this out," he told them and reluctantly Cam followed her colleague upstairs, not too fond of going back into the rat infested room.

"Did you find more remains?" Brennan asked.

"Not exactly," he said.

"I did, however, find thirty-six waffle irons. No syrup, though, what's the point?" Hodgins joked and Cam bit her cheeks so she wouldn't laugh.

"Hodgins." Booth didn't appreciate his humor.

"Right," he said and cleared his throat before he turned on a flashlight and revealed the blood stains on the floor. "Behold."

"I'm thinking cause of death might have something to do with blood loss," Cam pointed out and shared a quick look with her guy who was still kneeling on the floor, too close to the hole for her taste.

* * *

Cam couldn't help but groan when she found out later the same day that Daisy was back as the intern of the week.

"There. A place for everything and everything in its place," the annoying intern said.

"The place for this guy's flesh is on his bones, not in the buggy bellies of thousands of maggots," Cam said and tried to sound amused not unnerved.

"Dental records confirm that these are the remains of Timothy Daniel Murphy, age forty-eight," Brennan said and showed them the picture.

"You'll excuse me if I'm a little bit excited," Daisy gushed.

"Oh, you have a thing for hoarders, do you?" Cam concluded.

"Oh, Lord, no. They make me a little nauseous, actually, but I have excellent control of my gag reflex," the intern disagreed.

"There are two sets of parallel cleft wounds to the parietal and temporal bones, consistent with an attack with some kind of blade," Brennan ignored the chatter and concentrated on the case.

"Hacked to death-that would explain all the blood," her boss said.

"Weren't we talking about me?" Daisy asked.

"It always seems that way," Cam said with a large smile and asked herself if she would lose her job if she slapped Daisy upside the head, just once, really hard.

"It's just... I've been accepted to go to the Maluku Islands," she said and then shrieked so loud that Cam flinched.

"Whoa! Hearing loss, Miss Wick!" she said loudly over the shrieking.

"That is excellent news," Brennan said, now that the intern had her attention as well.

"Wow, that did not sound sincere," the pathologist couldn't help but comment.

"If it weren't for that letter of recommendation you wrote, I would not have made the cut," Daisy said to Brennan.

"Well, I had no idea that recommendation was for the Maluku project," Brennan sounded nearly offended as she said that.

"But it was. This is amazing. I could be referenced in research materials," Daisy replied and shrieked again. Cam had really had enough now.

"Whoa! Daisy, you have to stop making that noise," she ordered and then decided that it was better to concentrate on the case again. "Hacking suggests a crime of passion. Any blade marks on the other bones?" she asked Brennan, but she seemed lost in her thoughts. "Dr. Brennan?"

"Yes, Ms. Wick is indeed very fortunate. The Maluku anthropological team could influence scientific thought for many years," Brennan said, still not focused.

"Perhaps we could return from the Maluku Islands and focus on the murder?" Cam asked them, although they all knew it was an order and Cam breathed a sigh of relief when the two squints returned their focus to the case.

* * *

"Messy central speaking, how can I help you?" Hodgins answered when Cam called him which made her laugh.

"By telling me if you plan on coming over for lunch or not," she replied, leaning back in her chair and placed a hand on her belly, rubbing it slightly. "I'm really hungry."

"I doubt I'll make it out of here in the next few days. It's like bugs heaven and every way I turn I find something else. So far I have twelve possible murder weapons," he reported.

"Ok, then I'm gonna go and get something myself before I starve," she sighed. "Oh and by the way, we just sent Sweets over in your direction. He should be there in a few," she informed him.

"What for?" Hodgins wanted to know because he couldn't imagine what a psychologist could want in this chaos.

"To analyze the victim. Maybe he'll be able to tell you what crap is important and what isn't," Cam let him know.

"Oh, ok," he said. "Anything new?"

"Daisy will leave for the Maluku Islands at the end of the week. Thank God!" Cam said and made him laugh by the way she said it.

"Sweets knows it yet?" he asked her.

"I don't know. I just know that she'll be gone for a long time and I couldn't be more grateful. After all I nearly lost my hearing today when she kept screeching," Cam grumbled.

"So I better keep my mouth shut if he doesn't say anything. Oh and Michelle sent me a text saying she nearly fell asleep in her literature class," he then told her with a chuckle.

"She's sending you texts from school? What are you? Her best buddy?" Cam replied amused.

"Better that than her enemy," he said and wanted to say something else but then stopped. "Ooh, I just saw another rat," he exclaimed, following the rodent.

"Ok, then I'll let you get back to your real love and we'll see each other tonight when you're disinfected and showered," she grinned and then hung up.

* * *

"Hello?" Sweets asked a few minutes after Hodgins had caught the rat.

"Hey," Hodgins greeted him and then laughed when he saw him. "Look at you, all squinted up."

"Yeah, they didn't really get me a pair that fits," Sweets replied and picked at the jumpsuit. "To be honest, I'm feeling kind of pinched in my... wow. Those photographs did not lie," he said when he saw the apartment.

"Nope," Hodgins shook his head.

"So have you found anything that points to the killer?"

"No, not unless he was trying to hoard the hoarder's hoard," he said.

"Well, there might have been something of value in all this, right?" Sweets asked.

"What, you think someone actually tried to take something from here? How would he even know where to look?" Hodgins questioned his theory.

"Oh, oh! Did I just see a snake?" Sweets jumped after rounding a corner.

"Thamnophis sirtalis. It's a common garter snake," Hodgins shrugged unimpressed.

"We're on the third floor! How does a snake get in here?" Sweets was still freaked out.

"Probably followed the bats, rats, mice, squirrels, and fleas. There's also extensive termite damage, which explains why the entire floor fell into the apartment below," he got his answer.

"Four, five, six fans, and there are air fresheners hanging all over the place, so obviously there were complaints by the neighbors," Sweets changed the topic.

"Yep, suspects. I mean, heck, wouldn't you kill him if you lived next door to this?" Hodgins asked.

"Whoa!" Sweets exclaimed and held up a sword he had just found. "Daisy said that the victim was killed by a blade. Hacked to death, maybe. This could be the murder weapon," he said, unaware that a flicker of sympathy had just shown up in Hodgins' eyes when he had mentioned Daisy.

"Yeah, well, you can put it over there with all the others," the entomologist was still not impressed and pointed to the pile where he had put all the other possible murder weapons.

"Oh. Well, maybe all of these fell on him and it was just an accident," the psychologist guessed.

"Uh, no. No, that wouldn't explain the blood spatter," Hodgins shattered his theory.

"This is going to be very difficult because everywhere you look, there's a weapon," he said and realized that Hodgins was looking out the window and seemed to be worried. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"He's back," Hodgins said scared when he saw Angela's father standing outside of the apartment on the other side of the road.

"Who's back?"

"Angela's father." He saw Sweets looking out the window as well and then realized that her dad seemed to be gone. "Okay, I saw him down there. I know you do not believe me, but I saw him," he insisted.

"No, I totally believe you. The man carries a black cat bone in his back pocket," Sweets nodded, remembering his last meeting with the scary musician.

"Oh, God help me," Hodgins groaned, knowing fleeing wouldn't help for too long. He could only pray that he would survive.

* * *

"Special Agent Seeley Booth," he replied when Hodgins called him later that day.

"Hey, Booth, I found something."

"What kind of something?" the agent wanted to know.

"It's accounting records dated four years ago. They seem to have been neatly put away. Hey, what if the traumatic event that turned him into a hoarder was work-related? I mean, remember Enron? Madoff? Those guys would've loved to have killed their accountant. I'm just saying, you never know what secret lives people have in their past. You know what I mean?" Hodgins rambled and Booth only listened with one ear, his thoughts on the pictures in front of him; pictures of his time in the military years ago.

"Yeah, I do," he replied.

"Alright, well, I'm going to crate these up and I'll go ahead and send 'em over to you and... you hung up, didn't you? Booth? Yeah, okay." Hodgins knew when he heard the beeping sound on the other line. He switched his phone off and turned around, then shrieked. Angela's father was standing right in front of him. "That wasn't a scream," Hodgins said to himself, to justify his girlish scream. "That was a yelp. It's perfectly understandable. This is a... crime scene, so, technically no one should be here."

"You're not afraid of me, are you?" Angela's dad asked him and Hodgins was glad that so far he hadn't taken off the sunglasses.

"You? No," he denied, although he was fearing for his life.

"Good," Angela's father said. "So now that you've found yourself another family, I'm gonna have to go ahead here and uh, ask you for a favor so I can let you go."

"Anything for family," Hodgins told him a bit unsure, but knew he had to do it or die. He only hoped it wouldn't be another tattoo.

* * *

"Hey Jack," Cam greeted him when he called her later that day.

"You're alone in your office," he grinned knowingly.

"Why'd you say that?" she asked with a smile.

"Because you called me Jack, so I suspect no one's around," he told her.

"You're right," she said with a smile in her voice. "You found something or is this a private call?" she asked him then.

"I found something which Sweets will bring to the lab with him because I'm stuck here. Also I wanted to tell you that it seems like I won't be home tonight," he informed her.

"Don't you think you're overdoing it a bit? The crap can wait until tomorrow," Cam said and was wondering why he wanted to work all night, there was no reason for that.

"The crap maybe, but not Angela's father if I want to survive this day," he told her.

"Angela's father?"

"He showed up here and said he needed a favor from me so he can let me off the hook. Angela must have told him about our talk and he knows about us," he reported.

"What do you have to do?" she asked warily, already thinking about talking to Angela or even her father. She had grown up in New York after all and a bad ass Texan wouldn't be a match for her.

"You don't want to know, believe me. I just wanted you to know that I most likely won't come home tonight," he said.

"O-kay," she said, still not feeling too good about that. "But you know that I wanted to talk to you tonight," she reminded him of what she had told him during their weekend away.

"Yeah I know, but if I don't go I am not sure what the consequences will be. Tomorrow, ok?" he asked.

"Ok, tomorrow," she sighed.

"Or is it something important? Then I'll take the risk and come home tonight," he added when he heard the tone of her voice.

"No, it can wait until tomorrow. Just be careful," she said.

"Ok, then see you later or tomorrow morning," Hodgins replied. "Oh," he added before she hung up, "You're staying at your apartment?"

"Yes, I think so. Maybe I'll be able to start packing some boxes," Cam said.

"Alright, then see you when I get there," he said.

"See you then," she replied and then ended the call, wrinkling her forehead in confusion, wondering what he had gotten himself into again.

* * *

Cam was surprised when she saw Hodgins later at the lab. However he had to come in to check on the silverfish eggs he had found before he could go on his special mission. Together with Brennan she followed him through his lab while he kept talking about his findings.

"I took the unhatched silverfish eggs, made a milkshake, and ran it through the mass-spec," he explained.

"To find out what poisoned them?" Cam asked because it was also possible that he did it solely for his own personal enjoyment.

"Not poisoned, but rendered infertile," he corrected her.

"Oh, suggesting chemical agents or radiation," Brennan knew.

"Radiation. What I found were phyllosilicate minerals, along with some interesting metal oxides, very small traces of vitrified clay and Uranium 235," Hodgins specified.

"So, an atomic bomb?" Cam wasn't understanding him this time.

"No, something much more interesting than that," he grinned and pulled up an image of a garden gnome on the screen.

"An atomic gnome?" Cam couldn't believe it.

"Basically. Yeah. This is the Fiestaware Christmas Gnome, circa 1954. Now, the uranium was a common ingredient in the glaze on these gnomes until the second World War, when all production of the red Fiestaware Gnome was halted," he nodded.

"The victim claimed he possessed something worth $50,000. How much is the gnome worth?" Brennan made the connection.

"$50,000," Hodgins confirmed.

"We have our motive. Now we just have to find the person who collects radioactive Hobbits," Cam couldn't keep the amusement out of her voice and turned to leave.

"Mr. Adventure's here, ready to kick some biker ass," Sweets announced then and walked into Hodgins' lab dressed in all black and with a black ski cap on his head. Cam looked at him, then at Hodgins, knowing this must be what he had been alluding to.

"Please don't explain," she requested and exited the lab before she found out what they were planning and would have to ground them both.

* * *

"Cam, is it ok if I leave the new desk you bought me here and take Dad's out of storage and put it in my new room? Mine here was too small, but it just might fit under the window at Hodgins' place," Michelle asked while they were sitting Indian style on the floor in the living room, wrapping glasses in newspaper and then placing them into boxes.

"Of course it's ok. Maybe we should go through your dad's stuff and see what you want to take with you. We have a lot more space now," Cam replied.

"Maybe. But most of it is over in his garage, so we can do that on the weekend," Michelle nodded.

"Jack said the construction work on the loft should be done by the end of the week and then they'll work on the bathrooms and then the main bedroom," Cam informed her.

"I can't believe I'm moving again. I just moved in here a year ago," the teen said and looked around the living room. "I wish we had a beach here right in front of the patio like in Palm Springs. That was so wicked," she grinned then.

"We'd have to move again for that," Cam nodded with a smile.

"Last weekend was really great, I don't know when I last had that much fun," Michelle said dreamily and rolled another vase in paper.

"I still laugh when I remember your face when you realized Jack packed your underwear," Cam chuckled.

"That was weird. It never occurred to me before that he does my laundry. But it was great anyway," she said and her smile turned wistful a moment later. Cam noticed it, but didn't say anything. She waited until Michelle shared with her what was going on.

"Sometimes when I have fun with you and Hodgins like we did last weekend, I feel bad because I'm afraid Dad might think I've forgotten about him," the teen admitted. "I kept imagining that Dad was there with us, at the beach and in the club… I just, I wish he was still here."

"He's with you Michelle and Andrew would want you to have as much fun as you can possibly have, as long as you're safe," Cam told her.

"I want my dad back, but then I wouldn't have you and Hodgins. Even in my head I can never have it all. If Dad was still alive and you were there you'd be together so I wouldn't know Hodgins. Or you would be with Hodgins and you and Dad would fight or not have any contact and… I just can't make it work," Michelle said frustrated.

"I wish that he was still alive as well, honey. But at the same time, as bad as it sounds, his death got me you," Cam shrugged just as helpless and overwhelmed by the situation as Michelle.

"Maybe it was Dad's doing that you ended up investigating the case? He knew I had been waiting for you to come back and I always kept my part of the salt and pepper set. Maybe… maybe he made sure that when he wasn't around anymore you would take care of me?" Michelle asked unsure.

"Maybe," Cam nodded with a small smile and got up and held her hand out to Michelle.

"Come with me, I wanna show you something," she told her, helping her up and leading her to her bedroom.

"It's not gonna be anything juicy, right? I really don't want to know what you and Hodgins do in here," Michelle teased her when they entered the room. "Ow," she said a second later when Cam lightly slapped the back of her head.

"Behave," Cam warned her with a grin and then showed Michelle the picture she had put in her nightstand a few days ago so it wouldn't get lost in the moving chaos.

* * *

Meanwhile Sweets and Hodgins had arrived at the lot where the car of Angela's father was being held. The fence was high and they looked a bit helpless how to proceed.

"Are you sure this is the address?" Sweets asked Hodgins.

"Yes, absolutely sure," Hodgins confirmed.

"This is pretty extreme, man," Sweets said and looked warily in the direction of the buildings he could make out behind the fence.

"Of course, because I've got a crazy nearly- father in law that plays poker with bikers," Hodgins sighed nervously.

"Now, is that his..." Sweets started but then security lights flashed when dogs came running up to the fence and they had no choice but to run away.

When they came back they were better prepared and had brought a blanket that they threw over the wall.

"If Cam was going to the Maluku Islands, I'd go," Hodgins said with conviction.

"Even if it meant you becoming a pearl diver?" Sweets asked.

"Hey, even if it meant my having to listen to Daisy," Hodgins said because it was the most horrible thing he could come up with.

"So, what? I should just go? I should just give up my career and my life and my friends and my practice, and go to Indonesia?"

"Hey, I'm about to risk dismemberment just to keep Cam, Michelle and me safe," Hodgins pointed out.

"How are you going to get pass the dogs?" Sweets turned his attention back to the task at hand.

"I don't know," Hodgins admitted.

"How are you going to start the car?"

"I don't know."

"How are you going to get the car through the gate?" Sweets went on.

"I don't know," Hodgins said again.

"How are you going to evade the angry bikers?" Sweets kept asking.

"Oh, I haven't got a clue," Hodgins' patience was wearing thin.

"Okay, good plan. What do I do?" Sweets wanted to know.

"Survive and tell the story of my love," Hodgins replied and was only half joking.

"This wall is high."

"Nah. No problemo," Jack disagreed and fell to the ground on the other side a second later with a loud groan.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Sweets wasn't too far away from panicking.

"Just gravity," he groaned in pain.

"Dogs at 3 o'clock," the psychologist warned, but it was already too late and the first dog bit into Hodgins' shoe. Sweets had the genius idea of meowing like a cat and distracted the dogs. Hodgins used the opportunity to run off towards the car. He opened the garage, while the dogs were still focusing on Sweets. When he stepped inside he was startled when he came face to face with Angela's father, who was holding the keys in his hand.

"Oh! A test? Really? You could have done this by yourself," Hodgins groaned.

"Oh, sure I could, but I wanted to do one last thing together. Seems like we won't have the opportunity to anymore," the Texan replied.

"So you sicced dogs on me for nothing?" Hodgins couldn't believe it. He had risked his life because he wanted to do something with him? Couldn't they just grab a beer together?

"Well, not exactly, but we should really get going."

"Wow. For real? Okay, yeah," he said and took the keys and got into the car just as the bikers came out. "Uh... what do I do?"

"It's been my experience, if you drive at 'em, people clear out the way," the musician said calmly. With squealing tires Hodgins backed out of the garage and the engine revved. The men did scatter, but there was still the problem of the huge gate.

"The gate! What about the gate?" Hodgins asked nearly panicked.

"It was built to keep people out," Angela's dad shrugged.

"They are so gonna chase us."

"You ain't goin' nowhere now! Lock the gate!" someone yelled and Hodgins knew he had to drive. It opened and Sweets watched them pass and fell off the wall when he realized that the danger was over, his arms gave out and the dogs weren't a problem anymore.

Hodgins was guided to a bar a bit outside of the city and he wondered if another test would await him there.

"Here," Angela's father said when he came back to the car and handed him a bottle of beer.

"Sorry, but I don't drink and drive," he shook his head. The musician pushed the bottle in his direction again and looked disapprovingly. "In this case I'm more scared of Cam if she finds out I drank and drove," Hodgins insisted.

"She's from Texas?" he asked.

"No, The Bronx and now she's a coroner," he replied.

"Better not mess with her then," the older man nodded and seemed to understand that Cam really was the bigger threat compared to him. His black cat bones nor his weapons could change that. Then both leaned back against the car seats in companionable silence while the musician nursed his beer and Hodgins was glad he had survived. After that beer the next followed and by the time Hodgins dropped off Angela's dad and the car it was too late to stop by Cam's place so he went to his own, not wanting to wake her.

* * *

The next morning Cam was walking into the bone room with a cup of coffee in her hands. She had arrived early that morning so she could leave early, because she really had to talk to Hodgins.

"You been here all night?" she asked Brennan when she saw her still working.

"Wha- is it morning?" the anthropologist asked surprised. It had been awhile since she had been so focused on nothing but work that she had forgot to sleep.

"Yes."

"I've been here all night," Brennan said.

"You find anything new?" Cam asked her, hoping that all the work had at least been worth it.

"Yes. These marks weren't caused by a hatchet or a knife. The direction of force is opposite to the direction of impact," Brennan explained her findings.

"What would do that?" Cam wanted to know.

"A propeller."

"So he walked into a plane?" Cam said although she knew it wasn't likely.

"No. A fan. The crime scene is full of fans," Brennan corrected her and sighed, then put the skull down.

"Are you really leaving the Jeffersonian?" Cam couldn't stop herself from asking. Officially she hadn't got anything so far, but after Daisy had made a comment that Brennan had been asked to consult on the Maluku project, she was worried.

"Yes. For a year. I can provide you with a list of forensic anthropologists who can do this job," Brennan confirmed.

"No, Dr. Brennan. You can provide me with a list of forensic anthropologists," Cam pointed out sadly.

"I don't know what that means," Brennan replied and Cam felt a wave of sadness overtaking her upon hearing the familiar answer. Without another word she left the room, knowing that the team as she had known it would never be the same again. With Booth leaving for Afghanistan and Brennan and Daisy in Maluku she would have to break in new people and form a new team. She just wasn't so sure she could do it.

* * *

That evening Hodgins had an appointment with Angela and her father. He wasn't sure what he wanted, but he knew he'd find out. He knew Cam had wanted to talk to him, most likely about them moving in, but another day more or less, wasn't that big a deal anymore. He met with them in front of the Royal Diner and brought the car along that he had helped to steal.

"You're giving me the car?" Angela asked her father disbelievingly when he handed her the keys after Hodgins had got out of the car.

"Oh, no, honey. I'm giving you the money. The car is sold already, I know you wouldn't have any use for it. Thought you wanted to go to Paris, isn't that what you said?" he clarified and kissed Angela on the cheek. "The new owners will arrive with the money in a second," he added before walking away.

"That is one weird, scary dude," Jack commented as he watched him walk away.

"Yeah. So, Brennan's going to Indonesia with Daisy," Angela said nervously.

"I know," he nodded.

"Well..." she laughed and stopped when a biker walked up to them, placed a bag with money on the hood, opened it, showed it to them, closed it and then handed them the bag and took the car keys from Angela, then drove off. "Sweets and Daisy-they're gonna break up," she said then, looking a bit stunned.

"I know," he said again.

"Booth is going to Afghanistan," Angela went on.

"Not gonna touch that one," he shook his head, knowing that Cam would most likely be upset about that. He still had to talk to her.

"You and Cam will be staying here," Angela stated though it sounded like a question.

"Yes, we are. Maybe we'll go on vacation somewhere after they have moved in," he said, still feeling weird talking about it with Angela.

"Oh, really? And I'm going to Paris," she said finally.

"For how long?" he asked her.

"For a year. I have no desire to break in a new forensic anthropologist and an FBI agent, and I need some space, you know?" she asked.

"I know," he nodded. "Well, everything's changing, huh?" he said then.

"Yeah," she nodded. "What do you think's gonna happen with you and Cam? Will you be a married man when I get back?" she smiled a bit.

"Not sure. But I do know that we'll be together," he said. "And I wish you tons of fun in Paris, Ange," he said and hugged her briefly. "Ready to go?"

"Mmhmm," she nodded and together they walked back to the parking lot of the Jeffersonian to get their cars.

* * *

"Hey, where did Michelle vanish to?" Hodgins asked when he came into the living room that evening where they were going to watch a movie.

"She went up to her room, because I told her we have to talk," she said.

"Yeah, I know about the moving and the construction work and we still don't have new furniture..." he nodded and sat down on the couch next to her. "Did I tell you that the stupid dog ruined my shoe? There's a hole in it!" he changed the topic back to his adventure.

"Yes, you even showed it to me," she nodded and waited for him to finally focus on their talk.

"And then he sold the car. I would have bought it if he had asked me. It's not like he couldn't send Angela to Paris otherwise," he added.

"Jack..." she tried again to start the conversation, like she'd already tried to do several times during dinner. In the end she had given up, thinking that once he got the story out one would be able to talk about something else.

"Sorry, I know, but... you should have seen those dogs and the bikers! That crazy Texan risked my life so we could bond over a car he sold afterwards. That doesn't make any sense! What if they hadn't bit me in the foot, but..."

"Jack, please, could you be quiet for a second? I know you just had the adventure of your lifetime, but I really need to talk to you," Cam insisted.

"Our anniversary is in three days, baby, I didn't forget it," he told her, wondering what was so important that she needed to interrupt his adventure story again. Construction didn't seem to be it, so it could only be their upcoming anniversary.

"I know that our anniversary is in three days," she rolled her eyes, knowing he didn't realize that with this statement he had doubted she knew the date.

"525,600 minutes," he grinned. "And I nearly missed the last few because of Angela's crazy dad. Really when he showed up in that garage..." he started again and Cam just couldn't take it anymore. Forcefully she reached over to him and placed a hand over his mouth to shut him up.

"Shut up now," she told him and then slowly took her hand away when he raised his eyebrows.

"What I've been wanting to tell you for over a week now, is that I'm pregnant, you idiot," she finally spilled and couldn't contain the smile that showed on her face.

"What?" he replied stunned, not able to process the information just yet.

"I'm pregnant, 12th week... well now nearly 13th. I wanted to wait till I finished the third month so I knew everything was ok," she explained while he still stared at her, his eyes getting wider by the second and occasionally blinking. "And everything's just fine. The baby is..." she couldn't go on, because he suddenly pulled her against him and kissed her.

"Oh my God," he said and she couldn't remember ever seeing him so happy. "A baby... oh my God!"

"Yeah, a bit earlier than we wanted," she chuckled.

"I don't care," he shook his head and leaned his forehead against hers. "And is everything really ok? You're ok? No ectopic pregnancy?" he asked to be sure.

"Everything's perfect," she nodded. "You wanna see the ultrasound pictures?" she asked him.

"Absolutely," he nodded and kissed her again before he let her get up.

"I'll be right back," she smiled at him and then went upstairs to get the pictures.

"A baby," he whispered when she was gone and shook his head disbelievingly with a smile on his face that lit up the whole house.

"Cam just told me she told you," Michelle said when she came into the room a few seconds after Cam had left. "I'm gonna be a big sister!" she grinned and held up her hand for Hodgins to high-five her. He surprised her by hugging her.

"Since when do you know?" he asked her when he pulled back.

"Last night," she replied. "Cam showed me the ultra sound pics."

"Here, you want to see them too or you want to keep babbling about cars and dogs?" Cam asked him teasingly when she came back into the room.

"Do you hear that, baby? Your mommy is being mean to me," he said and placed a hand on her belly again before he kissed her and then took the ultra sound pictures from her.

"Here's the head," she told him and pointed to a point on the picture.

"How long have you known?" he asked Cam once he had studied the two pictures.

"Since Emilia was here. We found out at the hospital when they checked my medication," she replied.

"That was only three weeks ago. You didn't notice before? No nausea?" he asked puzzled.

"No, nothing. I'm just a bit tired, that's it," she shook her head.

"Maybe we should extend the construction work to a room for the baby?" he wondered then.

"There's still time for that. Let us move in first and then we'll see," Cam laughed, knowing he was already planning everything in his head.

"You're not lifting any boxes," he decided then and made Michelle laugh.

"Bet you'll be all cliché daddy, running around like a lunatic once the baby is coming," she laughed.

"Don't talk about the birth or I'll freak out," Cam warned her and made her laugh again.

"Didn't you talk about anything besides 'Oh, let's make a baby'?" she asked them laughingly and then realized what she had just asked. Quickly she held up one hand to stop them from replying. "No, don't answer that. Forget I ever asked." That made Cam and Hodgins laugh.

"Didn't we want to watch a movie?" Michelle changed the topic.

"We did. Grab the remote," Cam nodded and smiled when Jack's arm sneaked around her waist again, his hand resting on her belly.

* * *

"Will we tell them?" Hodgins asked with a large smile as he and Cam walked into the airport.

"I think we should keep it between us and Michelle for now. This is Brennan's and Angela's goodbye, let them have their moment. Of course, if you want to tell Angela you can, I'm not stopping you. I'm still thinking about telling Seeley before he leaves," Cam replied.

"No, let's keep it between us. When they come back we'll have a huge surprise and maybe some wounds will have healed by then," Hodgins suggested and his left hand found her abdomen again.

"Then I guess you have to keep your hands to yourself while we say goodbye," she laughed.

"What? I still can't believe that there's a baby in there," he defended himself with a smile.

"You won't feel the baby kick for at least two more months, so nothing to assure you by touching me," she shook her head at his craziness. "But I'm happy you're excited," she added and pecked his lips.

"I'm beyond excited," he grinned and pulled his arm back a bit, so it was just wrapped around her waist, his hand now resting on her hip.

"Flight 362 Jakarta will now depart from Gate E3," the voice said just as they reached the small gathering at the airport.

"I've really enjoyed working for you, Dr. Brennan," Cam told Brennan. The time to say goodbye had come.

"In fact, Dr. Saroyan, I worked for you," Brennan pointed out.

"We both know better," Cam smiled and hugged her. She would really miss her. Hodgins was next to say goodbye.

"Okay, I made you this chart of all the poisonous reptiles and insects, what they look like, how to avoid them, and what to do if you get stung or bitten, so...," he handed her his gift.

"Thank you, Dr. Hodgins. I love you, too," Brennan replied politely and Hodgins did a double take.

"Wow."

"Booth informed me that proffering of overly solicitous advice is indicative of love," she told him, explaining where her profession had come from.

"Wow," he said again and stepped away from her as Angela stepped forward.

"Angela," Brennan said sadly and hugged her best friend.

"Hey, Sweetie. I hope you find something that just changes the entire notion of what it means to be human," Angela told her.

"I will," Brennan was sure and couldn't say more because another announcement was being made.

"Passengers on flight 362 to Jakarta needing assistance may now pre-board."

"Dr. Brennan, we really have to go," Daisy said and they grabbed their bags.

"Yes," Brennan agreed, just as she saw Booth in his uniform. Slowly she walked towards him.

"Oh, my God," Cam said when she saw him in military suit.

"You want to go over to him?" Hodgins asked her.

"Nah, I'll call him tomorrow before he leaves and say goodbye," she replied.

"Ok, I'm off as well. I still have to pack," Angela told them.

"Take care, Angie," Hodgins said and hugged her.

"We'll miss you. Send us some postcards," Cam said with a small smile and hugged her as well.

"I will. And you two keep your act together and don't do anything stupid. I don't want to have a bad surprise when I get back," Angela told them and then walked off as well.

"Sweets, you wanna come along for a drink?" Hodgins asked the psychologist who looked heartbroken while Daisy walked away from him.

"I don't know," he sighed.

"Come on, it's Jack's turn to cook and Michelle will be there. We might even have something to share with you," Cam winked at him while Hodgins gave him a manly pat on the back.

"Let's go home, baby," Hodgins said to Cam and smiled knowingly at her as the four of them left the airport, the only three left of the old team and a new addition.

_You've been my queen for longer than you know  
My love for you has been every step I take, every day I live, everything I see_

_He called you baby, baby all night long  
What did he do?  
He called me baby, baby all night long  
_

_I know he called you babe  
All night long_

**The end**

**I think this is my clue to say "Thank you". First to Gianna who not only betaed the chapters, but also kept me writing with her enthusiasm for the story. Then there are my loyal reviewers at LJ, who made me smile with their reactions to the chapters. And finally thanks to all of those who occasionally told me that they're still around and reading. It's good to know I wasn't just writing it for me- although I did. I hope you all liked the end of the story. Personally I hope there'll be someone coming in the Cadgins universe who will take over writing stories for them. They are amazing and I still believe they could be good together. I hope I'll be able to read some stories about them in the future. Thank you for following their ride, even though we will never get to see it on actual TV.**

**I hope you leave me one last comment, as I left you one last chapter, this one.**

**Thank you!  
**


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